On the psychology of primary and secondary consciousness: Part 2

Abstract

In this second paper on the psychology of endogenous primary and exogenous secondary consciousness, the differential natures and functions of each of these two levels of consciousness previously examined by Montare (1996, 2000, 2019) were further elaborated. Primary consciousness and secondary consciousness were further examined in this paper as naturally-emergent, psychological-level systems that arise within the hierarchical, metatheoretical cosmological evolutionary framework of five fundamental entities and their interactions: energy (Stage 1); energy-by-matter (Stage 2); energy-by-matter-by-life (Stage 3); energy-by-matter-by-life-by-mind (Stage 4); and, energy-by-matter-by-life-by-mind-by-culture (Stage 5). In this scenario, primary consciousness evolved at Stage 4 and secondary consciousness subsequently emerged at Stage 5. It was suggested that primary consciousness initially arises internally within the individual mind from neuron-to-neuron communications, whereas secondary consciousness initially arises from external, cultural brain-to-brain communications. In conclusion, Summary Table 5 shows an accumulation of 41 distinctions between primary and secondary consciousness drawn from Part 1 (Montare (2019) combined with the work of the present paper (Part 2).