Dear Gregg and TOKers, I wanted to chime in here in response to what Gregg
had said in his last post, and I quote "In what might be an odd
association, it reminded me a bit of Richard Dawkins’ The Extended Phenotype
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_The-5FExtended-5FPhenotype&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=i7nNsrfa9DTo5dsI0IqptPxc5L7B79CRJtSAc-9XX8A&s=E71Q4pqpnu77G9cjB1rNE_veHUP5sRcHSFpa8zydJbI&e=>(and John’s notions
of Niche Construction). Certainly, as we radically alter our environment,
we radically alter ourselves. On the ride home from the beach yesterday, I
found myself inverting is his motto (the medium is the message) to "*the
message is the medium*." The inverted motto lines up directly with the key
insight of the ToK. That is, the mediums of cell-cell communication/genetic
info (Life), neuro-mental-subjectivity (Mind), and
linguistic-person-society-intersubjectivity (Culture) are the
“conglomerates” that allow us to unweave the rainbow of behavior and see
the dimensions that make us what and who we are." I would like to unpack
that series of interlinked thoughts which Gregg so beautifully articulated
a bit further if I may. The notion that *the message is the medium*,
particularly when combined with the cell as the Niche Construction, gets to
the heart of what I am trying to express......that cell-cell communication
accounts for all aspects of our 'being', physiology, consciousness, social
systems. I say that because IMHO the communication is what mediates both
homeostasis and evolution alike in service to the organism coping with an
ever-changing environment. And with all due respect to those who have
focused on language as the basis for human evolution, again I think that
they've gotten it backwards. Language is the human expression and
'embodiment' of cell-cell communication, which can be traced back to the
First Principles of Physiology and the origins of life itself as an
integral whole. In the same way culture can be traced back to the First
Principles of Physiology through the processes of Niche Construction. So
yes Gregg*, the message is the medium*......of evolution. Funny how the
inversion of the McCluhan aphorism has opened up to a 'synthesis'.... I
hope these insights have been helpful, and that perhaps we ToKers can move
forward together.

On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 6:02 AM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
>
>
> It is good to be back at my home computer after 12 days of "gluttony and
> sloth." I have been thrilled by all the insightful contributions to the
> list.
>
>
>
>   Corinne, thanks much both for your artwork and for the recent post about
> plants. Plant behavior became a point of fascination for me in figuring out
> psychology’s language game. I also think the article highlights many of the
> things that John has been trying to say about how physiology and cell-cell
> communication is foundational to understanding our essences. At the same
> time, the nervous system is a “game changer” when it comes to the “fast”
> behavior of animals. Whereas plant behavior is complex, responsive to
> stimuli, and highly functional, I don’t think we should call it “mental,”
> and I think that we should be careful in using terms like ‘see’ and ‘hear,’
> as in the title of the article. For us human primates, the term “see” is
> intimately tied to our *subjective experience of vision*. There is no
> evidence that plants have a subjective experience (AKA perceptual
> consciousness) of vision. They are clearly *physiologically aware* of
> light stimuli and respond accordingly. The relationship between functional
> behavior and the subjective experience of being, is, as Steve’s review of
> William James will likely point out, crucial in trying to solve the
> language game of psychology. As slide 11 in the BIT key idea ppt
> highlights, consciousness does not equal behavior
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.gregghenriques.com_bit.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=i7nNsrfa9DTo5dsI0IqptPxc5L7B79CRJtSAc-9XX8A&s=nuIHM928AqTRrDMh1hC2CVioSqEtwSw38fjf3HGT7DE&e=>, although we can use the ToK
> System to understand how perceptual consciousness is a subset of behavior.
>
>
>
> Thanks much to Nancy for her articulation of the development of human
> cognitive abilities and her evolutionary/Piagetian analyses. Nancy, I think
> both of your assumptions about evolutionary lineage and about lining up
> phylogeny with ontogeny in the way that you to understand the evolution of
> human thought highly valuable. I am glad to hear your connection to Merlin
> Donald. We have not spoken about that previously. Early in his book, Merlin
> Donald makes a central point: *During the relatively short time of human
> emergence, the structure of the primate mind was radically altered; or
> rather was gradually surrounded by new representational systems and
> absorbed into a larger cognitive apparatus.* (p. 4)  In the language of
> the ToK, what we became surrounded by were both the technological and
> linguistic environments that resulted in a dramatic shift in the flow of
> energy-information. The linguistic networks that formed were *justification
> systems*; narratives that provided the structure for our social lives and
> labeled Culture as the fourth dimension of behavioral complexity.
>
>
>
>   Mark, I have been very much enjoying reading up on the Center for
> Digital Life and Marshal McLuhan's work on media. I have found his analysis
> of mediums fascinating. In what might be an odd association, it reminded me
> a bit of Richard Dawkins’ The Extended Phenotype
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_The-5FExtended-5FPhenotype&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=i7nNsrfa9DTo5dsI0IqptPxc5L7B79CRJtSAc-9XX8A&s=E71Q4pqpnu77G9cjB1rNE_veHUP5sRcHSFpa8zydJbI&e=> (and John’s
> notions of Niche Construction). Certainly, as we radically alter our
> environment, we radically alter ourselves. On the ride home from the beach
> yesterday, I found myself inverting is his motto (the medium is the
> message) to "the message is the medium." The inverted motto lines up
> directly with the key insight of the ToK. That is, the mediums of cell-cell
> communication/genetic info (Life), neuro-mental-subjectivity (Mind), and
> linguistic-person-society-intersubjectivity (Culture) are the
> “conglomerates” that allow us to unweave the rainbow of behavior and see
> the dimensions that make us what and who we are.
>
>
>
> Ultimately, it seems to me that these are the kinds of interdisciplinary
> conversations that should be going on as we search for ways to integrate
> knowledge. As Joe commented, none of us has all the answers. But together
> we might be able to fashion a reasonable picture of the whole. I am
> reminded of the philosopher Oliver Reiser’s opening call in his book* The
> Integration of Human Knowledge* (which I found had remarkable parallels
> to the ToK version of reality), which seems perhaps even more appropriate
> today as it was when he wrote 60 years ago:
>
>
>
> *In this time of divisive tendencies within and between the nations,
> races,*
>
> *religions, sciences and humanities, synthesis must become the great
> magnet which*
>
> *orients us all…[Yet] scientists have not done what is possible toward
> integrating*
>
> *bodies of knowledge created by science into a unified interpretation of
> man, his*
>
> *place in nature, and his potentialities for creating the good society.
> Instead, they*
>
> *are entombing us in dark and meaningless catacombs of learning (Reiser,
> 1958,*
>
> *p. 2-3, italics in original).*
>
>
>
> Am happy to be back in the flow.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Gregg
>
> ___________________________________________
>
> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
> Professor
> Department of Graduate Psychology
> 216 Johnston Hall
> MSC 7401
> James Madison University
> Harrisonburg, VA 22807
> (540) 568-7857 (phone)
> (540) 568-4747 (fax)
>
>
> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.*
>
> Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=i7nNsrfa9DTo5dsI0IqptPxc5L7B79CRJtSAc-9XX8A&s=pbhRGK4jRa5p4ByWv-_HAbSlqldFbSqgEhw5unbuhZE&e=
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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