The structure of individual behaviour and the development
of consciousness, with examples of the process.

Structure: a dynamic process

v Introduction: Reversed reasoning

v Elements of the system

v Four theses
The dynamics of the process
Feedback: a cyclic process

v Building the process: the phases
tables with details of the process > separate page
Example: contact with men, or contact with women

v What can we do with this?

Introduction: Reversed reasoning

It is my intention to investigate the structure of the human system. The objective may be clear: I want to find a method which enables us to describe individual people. In ZZZ #3 I have examined a typically organic process, namely an eating process, and came across the fact that it could serve as a model for my analysis. In this zine I'll work in the opposite direction. I shall begin with the reconstruction of the underlying process, the standard form, logically reasoning from the most essential and most human notions I could find. First the building materials shall be presented. With the help of that material the phases of the process can be constructed, and subsequently I shall unify the whole (the phases) and work it out in an example.
This zine is rather abstract and theoretical. You might, if you want to, skip this zine altogether for the moment and return to it at a later point. I suggest that you try and find your own way, as I have done.

Elements of the human system

The building materials consist of a set of ideas and central notions from philosophy, but from other fields as well. For this moment it should be sufficient to just mention them and proceed with the theses which are based on my interpretation of the central ideas. Whenever necessary later on, I shall revert back and go into them deeper.

A listing:

Immanuel Kant has said that
1. things conform to knowledge (we see the world as we, in anticipation - a priori - need to see her);
2. a work of art answers its inner purpose (therefore requires another way of observation than the causal view);
G.W.F. Hegel's train of thought or 'triad', part of the dialectical process;
Albert Einstein's [ note ] conclusion that every system of co-ordinates (the train has another system of co-ordinates than the ground on which the rails rest) has its own specific time and its own spatial distances;
and his affirmation of Minkowski's findings that it is a consequence of the special theory of relativity that Time is really the fourth dimension, not independent from Space (which was later called space-time continuum);
Martin Heidegger's concept of 'singularity' (and non-singularity);
Robert M. Pirsig's [ note ] distinction between static and dynamic quality (he refers to philosophers before Aristotle, in particular to Plato);
Gregory Bateson's [ note ] 'difference that makes a difference';
two notions from systems theory [ note ]:
there are 'closed' and 'open' systems, an organism combines the two;
an 'open' system receives impulses and in turn shapes its environment.

A human being is often described as an organization which (or as a program that) has to develop itself. To develop indicates that the result of that which we want to reach is present beforehand, only enveloped. Inside a system information is processed. 'Consciousness is a specific case [ note ] of the way in which information moves or is processed inside the system' [ note ]. Consciousness [ note ] has to do with the way in which a person handles the environment. Consciousness always implies a shift of the logical order, because it means that 'you know that you know'.

All this has contributed demonstrably to the formulation of the following
- theses: -

1. inner necessity
The singularity of every human being originates from an inner necessity, is a-priori given. This singularity consists of the inner space-time which includes conditions and capacities.

2. dynamics: two directions open / experiencing, and feedback
The singularity has both the need to develop and to express itself, and an urge for self-preservation and self-protection. The first requires openness of the inner space-time in the face of an environment.
In order to express itself, the singularity has to be given a defined form in an environment: the conditions must be molded into a specific form as goals, the capacities must be developed into useful abilities.
Dependence (be it real or supposed dependence), a consequence of presence in an environment, is the source of experience, which in turn is needed to develop its capacities and to form its conditions more specifically. Openness and reticence in facing the environment, is determined by the singularity: experience is inserted in an inner context together with conditions and capacities. The interpretation of experience is, determined by the inner space-time, 'enveloped' in the inner context and 'developed' when time is ready. In other words: the openness of the singularity towards the environment, the interpretation of the environment, and the use of its conditions and capacities are determined by the inner space-time.
We see a self-determined process of continual interaction or reciprocity with an environment, and of feedback.

fig. 1. dynamics

The dynamics necessary for experience, for feedback and development, boil down to a constant shift of direction. Out of its inner space-time the singularity directs itself towards the environment in openness, and vice versa directs itself towards its inner space-time in experiencing (attention, intimacy).

at the left side: impulses and differences,
at the right side: the singularity or inner space-time enveloped in an inner context of experience.


3. four elements:	activity - value - difference - inner context
The dynamic contact of the inner space-time of a human being with the situation in the environment (a different space-time) consists of four elements. The elements have this logical sequence: 1) activity - spatial movement in the environment's space-time, is followed by 2) value - involvement of the time-scheme of the inner space-time, after which between these two there can be 3) a difference - knowledge in time in terms of the environment's space-time, after which 4) the context - reaction in spatial movement in the inner space-time will be next in turn.
4. three forms of activity:	evoke - respond - rework
During the contacts in dynamic alternation between the inner space-time of the human being with the environment, activity must take place before any result can be taken in as experience. The activity takes place in three forms: thesis, antithesis and synthesis. We use verbs to indicate these forms: a. evoke or make, b. respond or claim and c. rework or compare.
synthesis:
As we want to cultivate all four elements in three different ways we need twelve phases. In order to come up to the requirement of repetition, necessary to be able to use experience, the last phase should link up with the first phase [ note ]. In this manner we have created a structure which is based on a cyclic process that comprises twelve phases.
^
fig. 2. feedback The cyclic process, the circle with its twelve phases, alternately seeking activity and experience. Feedback, necessary in order to learn from experience, is possible since the last stage (and sub-purpose) is connected with the first.
..

Building the process: the phases

On the basis of the notions given in the theses, we shall now build the process. Our building materials are: four elements, three verbs, and two dynamic directions. With that basic material we shall try to form sentences which describe the phases, the components of the basic process.

A few examples of how we can use the materials to construct sentences:

the words: [I] + (environment with emphasis on space) activity + evoke or make + open (outward)
give for example: "I open myself (or not) toward the environment (other space-time)"
the words: [my] +(inner space-time with emphasis on time) value + respond or claim + experiencing (inward)
give: "now I claim (or not) time to bring in my conditions"
the words: [I] + (environment with emphasis on time) difference + rework or compare + open
give for example: "I compare (or not) the differences from 1 with 2"
the words: [my] + (inner space-time with emphasis on space) context) + evoke or make + experiencing
give: "I evoke (or not) my inner context, I make (or not) my inner home, a tangible base"
and so on until all twelve combinations have been used.

It should be mentioned that the process develops in a cumulative way, it becomes increasingly complex. In other words: the next phase always includes the former. The fourth sentence could read: "In the interaction with my environment I use (or not) my inner context and by allowing (or not) my conditions to determine my path, I form (or not) a solid (and conscious) base".

In several ways this process can be subdivided in groups consisting of different numbers of phases. If you took a large group of six phases in a row, i.e. half the circle, then the second group would be a reflection of this. The character is that of complements.

The details of the connections and combinations that the process offers have been brought together on a separate page with tables and figures.

Example: the process

- contact with men, or contact with women.

The man or the woman could be somebody at my job or in a shop, someone sent in to do repairs, the boss, a colleague or a lover. This also describes my being assertive, and letting others take the initiative, respectively.

A man or a woman is present - be it in sight, on the telephone, or in my imagination;
now I pay attention to my own conditions and experience; either I follow my own path or I follow whatever happens;
then I relate the information from the two earlier phases with the next, whilst I think things over and gather information;
within myself I make space for the presence of the man or the woman (1), my conditions and experience (2) and the information which I acquired en route (3), and allow my feelings to work on it.
This is the end of the first, the subject forming and preparatory, part of the process. Until this stage the contact can still be broken off.
I can emerge with my goal, show myself as a man / woman, can experiment in a playful way with the effect of my standpoint and acquire a better overall view, if I want to be in charge of myself in the situation;
now I analyze the possibilities which I have developed up to this point, I then determine what I myself must, can or want to do (the work I'll do) and what I need supplements for, such as a partner;
(this was the 'I' half of the process; the second half describes the 'I' in confrontation with experience);
then I collect experiences with this man or woman: I compare and I weigh what the other person has to offer against what I am asked to give in exchange;
then I examine whether this, in essence, is the experience which matches my needs, what is the role of sex and sexuality in this contact; I draw my conclusions and decide if this is the right experience, whether I shall conform, or reclaim my space and reject this contact.
End of the second, object forming and selective part of this process.
The information from my experience with other people can be compared and processed into the story which matches my goal, but I need not commit myself yet for it is only an ideal;
now I determine what risks I am taking, assess the feasibility of my goal; for now or for a later date I form an attitude, ascertain my limits and develop my plan;
then I carry out my plan in social situations: am I more acceptable; do I accept myself more with this behaviour, this person, this experience;
finally I assimilate this experience and store the information which will be available for use at subsequent contacts with men or women; now I save the experience: either in my conscious, or in my subconscious memory, and let go of the other person's work or not.
This is the end of the third, assimilating, part of this process. The amount of distance determines my freedom for new experiences in this field.

Whenever our behaviour does not have the result we expected it to have, we are able, unlike the example of eating an apple from ZZZ#3, to 'chew the cud'. I could go back to the first phase and ask myself what I exactly had in mind (phase 2), which path I have taken after that (3) and in which phase things could have gone wrong. I can ask myself what I expect from this man or woman, what I expect from men or women in general and which phases I may have skipped during the process.

In case an undesirable situation has developed after the consumption of a certain type of food we cannot turn back the facts, as we could not in this example, but we can henceforth chew and taste more carefully (phase 1) and stay alert to allergic reactions from our body.

What can we do with this?

I have formulated in this zine some of my principal ideas. With these I have formed building materials, used them to construct the phases of the underlying process and finally worked out the phases in detail in two examples. This has resulted in the first stages of a language suited to our purpose, a description of the process of consciousness and a closely-reasoned system of conceivable internal connections (see also the annex and the list of keywords)
This material also presents the structure to draw up descriptive outlines for other processes. Apart from the above examples one could think of descriptions of processes like

handling property, energy and sexuality, emotions, using power and being powerless
developing diffidence and self-reliance, self-consciousness
handling the sense of shape, talking and thinking, sense-organs
handling impulses, realism and vagueness.

A most important process is the process of beginning which, having been amplified by a filtering or colouring, becomes a pattern of beginning (see the survey of the pattern line). The instruments have their places within the colouring which is determined by time and place. Thus the individual pattern becomes visible. For both the filtering or colouring and the instruments we need to know more about the inner space-time of the singularity. That will be the next subject in this series about structure.

The structure of individual behaviour and the development of consciousness, with examples of the process.