Noble Mind

An Exploration of Human Nature.

Consciousness, Intellect, and our Mind.

Appendix A Definitions

Some important definitions for the H I Mind Model

There are many ways of defining human qualities and human experiences. These definitions provide an explanation of how important terms are used in this exploration.

The Brain

A physical organ contained by the skull and connected to the whole human body.

What is a Brain?

A brain is the physical organ, typically held within the skull, that generates and supports the mind and is studied by neuroscientists, biologists, physicians, and many others.

Notes

I don't attempt to define the brain too completely, and I'll explain why below.

A literal definition of the brain might describe the neuron-based mass that is found in the skull of many species of animal, including human beings.

But there are other constituents of the brain such as glial cells, the neuroimmune system, hormones, neurotransmitters, and other chemical that can impact the functioning of the brain as a whole.

In addition, the workings of the brain are not restricted to the skull as the nervous system extends out to all extremities in the body.

And even further than that, there are connections (both neuronal and chemical) to the body, and in particular the gut, the gut and body biome, the body immune system, the heart and major organs, and all other physical parts of the body. These are not, generally, physically located in the brain but do influence the workings of the brain.

To keep this very complex set of appreciations simple, I adopt a consciously vague definition of the brain as given above.

The Mind

A description of our own internal experience of being alive.

What is the Mind?

Our mind is the collection of processes in our brain and body that influence our behaviour and that we experience and can become aware of in one form or another.

Notes

The mind is something that we all experience and yet it doesn't actually exist.

'Mind' is not a 'thing' but rather is a process or a model, so the mind cannot be defined in a rigorous way. Different Theories of Mind or Mind Models can be equally valid but are suitable for different purposes. I suggest the basic definition above to give an appreciation of Mind that we experience and which has functionality that determines our behaviour,

Mind includes conscious and non-conscious processes.

Mind includes brain-based and body-based processes. Body-based processes are included partly because the brain and body are closely coupled and inter-dependent and also because the body provides feelings that directly influence, or reflect, our mental states of being.

Mind Model

An attempt to provide simple descriptions of the mind.

What is a Mind Model?

A mind model, or theory of mind, attempts to provide simple descriptions of the main parts or functions of that which we experience as our mind.

Notes

In one sense the concept of 'mind' is in itself a metaphor for the totality of our mental experiences. A mind model attempts to provide simpler ways to understand the huge variety of experiences that we share as human beings.

Mind models attempt to describe experiences, functionality, and processes in such a way that we can beneficially better understand our own minds and develop interventions that aim to alleviate distress and discomfort as well as seeking to optimise our abilities to live mindful and fulfilling lives.

Mind models also are essential for understanding and managing all human activity in complex societies.

Although it seems evident that we share many attributes with all other living beings, we cannot directly assume that a working mind model based on human experiences can be directly relatable to other species.

Focuses of Mind

A functional part of the mind providing capabilities to handle particular aspects of life.

What is a Focus of Mind?

A functional part of the mind focussing on a major aspect of human life that promotes behaviour supporting evolutionary benefit.

Notes

A focus of mind supports behaviour and/or particular types of thinking that, when combined together with other focuses, provide evolutionary benefits of specific behaviour balanced by adaptive behaviour.

The H I Mind Model describes four main semi-conscious focuses:

A focus to promote basic family behaviour.

A focus to promote creativity and imagination, including play for social-learning and exploration for personal advantage.

A focus to promote language and hence enable large-group activities beyond the family/tribe.

A focus to promote appreciation of the significance of life beyond self-interest.

Our core consciousness can also be considered as a focus of mind with the function of managing the four main focuses.

The H I Mind Model defines these focuses through consideration of evolutionary selection but a loose mapping of these focuses to the brain can be inferred from the basic observed characteristics of the left and right brain hemispheres. However, it is not safe to assume that there is a direct relationship between particular activity in the brain and any of the focuses of mind.

Each focus of mind has particular qualities, such as speed of action and focus of interest, and characteristics including compulsions, emotions, imperatives, type of intellect.

Core Consciousness

How we are aware, at least to some extent, of what goes on in our head.

What is Core Consciousness?

Core Consciousness could be described as self-awareness combined with focus and supported by very short-term (working) memory.

Notes

There is a big problem with the definition given above. It is very difficult to describe the process or experience of consciousness without using terms such as awareness, attention, thinking, thought, and so on. These terms are basically just alternative descriptions of consciousness and so we end up describing consciousness as consciousness. We just don't seem to have the ultimate ability to actually appreciate or describe what is going on in our own heads that we call consciousness.

However, it is worth exploring this a little more deeply.

Meta-awareness is, I suggest, awareness of a current state of being and context and of thoughts, intuitions, emotions, and other internal processes that relate to our current state of being.

Focus is, I suggest, a process of concentration on one or more topics or themes that is/are currently selected to be given priority attention.

Working Memory is, I suggest, the holding of a summary of the progress of attention and a collection of details related to the focus of attention.

Thoughts include, I suggest, such things as judgements, postulations, deductions, mental observations, reasonings, results, call-to-action, and demands for specific behaviour or action.

There are some additional comments that I could make about how these concepts might lead to an eventual understanding of how consciousness works but much more basic research is required.

H I Consciousness

How we can describe the dynamic combination of Focuses and our Core Consciousness.

What is the Function of Consciousness?

H I Mind Consciousness is the processing of information managed by our Core Consciousness but including the major Focuses of Mind as described in the H I Mind Model.

Notes

The H I Mind Model describes several focuses of mind that have specific functions, qualities, and capabilities. The focuses are semi-conscious in the sense that their functioning can become more conscious under the direction, or focus, of our Core Conscious Mind.

By adopting a model of our mind that includes these focuses we can describe our overall experience of conscious processing from a more functional perspective.

The H I Mind Theory of Consciousness provides a functional model rather than a descriptive model and, in so doing, it provides much of the processing that in simpler models is lumped in as either conscious of non-conscious. This, in turn, both seeks a better overall understanding of what goes on in our minds and simplifies the potential for defining consciousness.

Compulsions

Basic and strong drives produced by the subconscious.

What are compulsions?

Basic and strong drives produced by the subconscious to drive our behaviour.

Notes

Compulsions are hard to ignore but we know when they are running. Compulsions become stronger over time so that they impinge more and more on our consciousness until we perform the act that they are aimed at.

Examples of compulsions include the urge to urinate or defecate, hunger and thirst, strong fear (terror/panic/shock), sexual climax, post-traumatic disorders, and exhaustion.

Compulsions are experienced primarily as feelings although they can also cloud and gradually suppress our normal conscious states.

Compulsions are a response to bodily needs but can be triggered by the situation or can change in magnitude according to changes in situation.

Generally, compulsions seem to be generated in the Subconscious and most are resistant to attempted conscious control.

Compulsions seem to be basic and primitive drivers of behaviour.

Emotions

Flexible and varied mixtures of feeling and thought that guide our behaviour.

What actually are emotions?

Flexible and varied mixtures of feeling and thought that are a response to the current situation and that help to guide our behaviour.

Notes

Emotions are always a combination of feeling and thought and are aimed at producing directed behaviour to achieve specific survival benefits.

We may be more aware of either the thoughts or feelings associated with particular emotions unless we are experienced at recognising and exploring our cognitions.

Emotional feelings can be very varied in strength and quality, although there is enough common experience of emotion for us to be able to communicate a description of our feeling in ways that mostly can be recognised by other people.

Emotions are very strongly associated with conscious and semi-conscious thoughts and imaginings, so much so that simply thinking certain thoughts may immediately produce feelings.

In the H I Mind Model, behaviours are mainly a mix of primary behaviours to engage beneficially with something, to pull away from a situation, or to engage destructively. These primary behaviours are typically named love, fear, and anger. An additional dimension of emotion could include contentment, although that can also be treated as a passive form of love.

Emotions tend to constantly vary and can be difficult to precisely define, which can lead to some examples of confusion about what is and what is not actually an emotion. For example, guilt is technically not an emotion, it is a judgement (shame is the emotion that commonly goes with a guilty self-judgement).

Another example is pain, where the feelings can be strong and there will probably be many thoughts. Pain is a subconscious compulsion.

Similarly, generalised body feelings can be mistaken for emotion. When I have eaten a large meal I may feel discomfort that feels very similar to fear or anxiety and indeed some feelings may lead to actual fear or anxiety because I misinterpret a physical feeling for a mind-generated motivation.

Another potential, though problematic, example is pure ecstasy where there is almost overpowering feeling but active consciousness and thinking are likely to be absent. Ecstasy may be an extreme form of exhilaration or desire (both emotions primarily expressing a form of love and directed at a specific experience). In the case of ecstasy though the experience not only is difficult to associate with behaviour and thought but may be more about transcendence or some other altered state of consciousness.

I bring the example of ecstasy up as it shows the problem of trying to be too pedantic about definitions of experiences in the mind. In practicable terms the simple definition of emotion given above should cover most day-to-day experiences.

Imperatives

Instinctual guides of general behaviour.

What are Imperatives?

Imperatives are genetically-derived generalised drives in the mind that influence much of our behaviour but rarely appear as direct thoughts or feelings.

Notes

Imperatives may commonly be described as instinct or human nature and are shared, to a greater or lesser degree, across humanity. Almost a form of programming that produces humans that are designed (be evolution) to behave in ways that lead to survival and a benefit to our own culture.

Although I suggest that imperatives have a genetic basis it also seems obvious that the actual expression of imperatives will vary in nature and importance from one individual to another.

Imperatives may work in a very similar way to cognitive guiding beliefs but are not taken on as a result of lived experience.

I suspect that imperatives are pre-verbal, which is what makes it less likely for them to be recognised as part of our usual thinking process.

Examples of imperatives include:

An assumption that it is best to 'get on' with others.

A desire to 'belong' to our society in some meaningful way.

An insistence to 'get things right'.

A tendency to play.

A drive to explore.

A wish to leave a legacy.

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