The next step in consciousness?
For some reason or other I have been engrossed in thinking about consciousness. How consciousness develops; the size of one’s consciousness; but most of all the evolution of consciousness or the next step of consciousness for us.
This is complete conjecture but I think that consciousness develops along two different axes. As we age we move from simply being able to understand objects or things to being able to grasp abstract concepts or ideas. Simultaneously, we also (or some of us) move from a very self-centered view of the world towards a view that is able to encompass those around us.
Projecting out on the latter axis could imply that the next step is a global consciousness. This could be a consciousness that is able to comprehend our actions as well as the impact of our actions on society and the planet. Clearly this is not too much of a stretch – as a species we are rapidly developing this kind of awareness already.
It’s what happens on the other axis that is less obvious. Clearly this is a path towards being able to exist in a world of symbols. At the far end of this axis, we are able to comprehend ideas about ideas about ideas. Thinking about it is dizzying for my underdeveloped consciousness, however it’s a reasonable bet that the main weight of our thinking will be divorced from the physical or tangible world around us.
As I wrote here, this is already happening to a great degree in business. Value is being created, not at the tangible/physical level, but instead at a more abstract level of services. Right now, the bulk of services are still tied to physical goods or resources. It’s interesting to imagine what services that aren’t tied to anything physical could be. And even more exciting to imagine what form services created through a global consciousness could take.
