The Origin of Consciousness in the Social World

The collection of articles provide in their very interdisciplinarity of self-standing fields of inquiry an overview of the state-of-the-art of current debates in consciousness studies in relation to social interaction and conceptions of the social brain, social mirror theory, etc. Moreover, and Whitehead has to be congratulated for this, the book is visionary in its scope of an emerging field of research that no doubt will be of use and influence for scholars increasingly working into this direction. One of the strength of the book is — and this makes it a unique and rather successful anthology — that Whitehead does not fear to tackle inherent tensions among the different contributions. He regards conflicts as a source for advancement and discovery, and avoids the temptation (common in this publishing format) to create a meta-narrative that should bind the single author’s contributions together in one unique whole. What to some might seem a smart strategy, seems rather informed by an acknowledgement that interdisciplinarity only works well if the strength and potentials of the distinct disciplines are mutually respected. What all articles share is the recognition of the importance of social interaction and shared experience for the development (and as the title suggests, an approach toward an understanding of the origin) of consciousness. The contributions differ in approach, methods, perspectives and the weight they give to the interaction between the physical and the social, cultural factors with profound and sometimes conflicting philosophical implications. The range of disciplines addressed in this volume accordingly comprises a wide range, including brain studies, neuroscience, biology, ethology, primatology, cognitive sciences, psychology, cultural anthropology, social sciences, and philosophy. Also impressive is the range of research areas that this anthology addresses, as it is immediately visible in the Index, which include studies in music, dance, cultural rituals, altered states, mother-child vocal communication, empathy in elephants’ behaviours, pretend play, the neurobiology of sympathy, the problem of the origin of language, intention in action understanding, collective representations and consciousness, etc. to name only a few.

The Origin of Consciousness in the Social World should be regarded as exemplary for the way — as innovative thinkers such as Bergson or Bateson had envisioned — scientific research with sophisticated and well-grounded methods can venture into yet unknown and inexplicable areas of natural phenomena without loosing its credibility and validity. This is particularly true for the study of consciousness, which presents a portal to a wide range of phenomena whose study may provide a lever to gain a better understanding of the underlying mental/cognitive dimensions of the human condition. In this regard Whitehead has been visionary enough to dedicated space in the third section of the book, ‘Collective Consciousness and Reality’, for contributions discussing the role of emotions in inter- and transpersonal systems, the issues of collective consciousness and correlations in beliefs about consciousness and reality. The anthology is choreographed in a rather inspiring way in that the recurrent themes of shared experience, beliefs and nature of reality, intersect the attributed main sections which move from discussions of the ‘Social Brain’ in the first section, to discussions of the social mirror theory in relation to research into mirror neurons in the second section, ‘Social Mirrors’, and finally to commonly marginalised areas of approaches to transpersonal, interpersonal and collective phenomena in the last section.

The book is a must-read for anyone who is unsatisfied with reductionist, materialist (or on the other extreme irrational) approaches to the study of consciousness, and particularly also for readers in the Humanities and Arts who would like to gain an overview on the current state-of-the-art in the scientific study of consciousness that recognises the necessity of bridging between these academic disciplines. Although most authors can be regarded as some of the pioneers in the study of consciousness in the last 20 or more years, the articles are written in a most accessible style, so that the book can also be recommended for scholars new to this field. It covers a wide range of some of the most prominent debates in consciousness studies, by which it achieves both: a look back through reflections on the origins of consciousness embracing a historical dimension, a focus on the present prevailing discussions and a perspective for potentials of future research directions. More publications in this field are needed with such vision to fulfil the Tucson Center for Consciousness Studies’ call to establish research ‘toward a science of consciousness studies’ (http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/), in order to embrace the broadest range of dimensions of the human condition. It can furthermore only be hoped that this may also result in a stronger inclusion of knowledge practices and empirical research from the Humanities and the Arts with their unique insights into, and historical traditions of, the very processes of creativity, imagination, etc. and the anthropology and philosophy of mind in relation to the subject of consciousness. By taking up Whiteheads call or an inclusion of social and cultural anthropology in the study of consciousness, Baruss’ closing contribution makes an important move into this direction by addressing the materialist ‘politics of science’ in his insightful and useful clarification of the confusion in the interpretation of the term consciousness in the scientific literature. He calls for authenticity in empirical research and for the grounding of the researcher’s actions on the very basis of her understanding.

Imprint also needs to be congratulated for taking on board cutting-edge research with visionary potential that is not (however not always reasonably) uncritically viewed in some of the more canonic areas of the sciences. Another example of an Imprint publication of the same year, The Origin of Humanness in the Biology of Love (Maturana Romesin and Verden-Zöller, 2008) presented a similar potential (reviewed last month at Leonardo Reviews), which is not unrelated in the way certain attributes of love like trust or empathy are recurring subjects in The Origin of Consciousness in the Social World. This is especially evident in those articles that locate their discussion at the pivotal distinction between human and non-human ‘animals’, in particular in Whitehead’s insightful section of the ‘cultural explosion’ in his introduction to C. Knight’s contribution. It can only be encouraged that this quality of interdisciplinary collaborations and interconnections presented here will be recognised as fundamental for future research and publishing strategies, especially for those who are at the forefront in recognising the importance and necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration in the rapidly expanding complexity of contemporary research areas.