Hierarchy of Interconnectedness
Discussion
Marylin Monk:
"Analysis of this hierarchy of interconnectedness will show that, at each level, the parts are in service to ensure the survival of their higher order structure in evolution – the electrons to the atom, the atoms to the molecule, the molecules to the cell, and so on (although remembering that equally there is extinction from cosmos to atoms in the other direction). The parts in service at each level are conscious in that they detect and respond to their surrounding environment. The mechanisms are material and known at all levels of complexity as we will now examine – starting with the atom.
Atoms to Molecules to Cells
Atoms consist of a balanced number of neutrons and positively charged protons in the nucleus and negatively charged electrons in their orbits (Bohr, 1923). For example, a carbon atom has six electrons and six protons, an oxygen atom has eight protons and eight electrons. When the balance of protons, neutrons and electrons is disturbed, the atom decays. The components or parts of the atom are in service to their higher order structure – the atom.
Next, we have the molecules which consist of several atoms joined together by covalent bonds formed by a sharing of electrons in their outer orbits. The stability of molecules is variable depending on the strength of bonding between the atoms and the possibility, or not, of their bonding with another atom or molecule. One could say that the atoms are in service to the molecule and the mechanisms by which they bond and form the molecule are understood.
Molecules interact in an interconnected way to form cells. There are approximately 3000 biochemical pathways, with their associated enzymes and cofactors, interconnected in every cell.
This is called the metabolome. Interconnectedness means that a change in any part (substrate, product, enzyme, cofactor) of any biochemical pathway affects all the pathways in the cell. The interconnected changes in all pathways is called metabolic flux, which can be observed by mass spectrometry. For instance, one can distinguish a starvation metabolome, from an addiction metabolome, from a sugar eating metabolome, and so on. Metabolic flux shows the interconnected pathways detecting and responding to a changing environment – our definition of consciousness. The molecules are serving their higher order structure – the cell. Mutation any of the key genes supporting growth and survival of the cell leads to cell death.
Cells to Tissues to Organs to Life-Forms and Populations of Life Forms
We see that the next items in increasing levels of complexity are tissues and organs. In the case of a mammal (e.g., a mouse) as an example of a life form, all cells in the body have the same 20,000 genes. The differentiation into over 100 different cell types in the body is directed by signaling from the different environments of the cells in the developing fetus to programme their genes to be on or off, up-regulated or down-regulated. The programing is by epigenetic mechanisms – modifications superimposed on the DNA of the genes to regulate their expression (for example, methylation of cytosine in the DNA, Lindsay et al, 1985). In computer language the genes are the hardware and the programming is the software. The cells detect information from their environment in the developing fetus and respond by differentiating into cells with the required function (bone, muscle, blood, skin, nerve, and so on). In this sense they are conscious and serving the tissues and organs of the body. Studies on other life forms in the laboratory – e.g., nematode worms, flies, fish – show similar material mechanisms governing differentiating cells to establish the required functions for service of the cells to the different tissues and organs. If the cells cease to serve their tissue, for example by epigenetic deprogramming (Monk et al, 1987) due to cessation of informational signaling, the tissue may be lost (e.g., to death or cancer).
The next level I have included in Figure 2 is populations. Populations of multiple members of a species can form a higher order structure – for example, the slime mould slug (Alcantara & Monk 1974), the beehive, or the Portuguese Man O' War jelly fish. Here we have a colony of organisms taking on different roles and working together for the sake of survival of the greater whole (and themselves). Again, the material mechanisms of service are known in populations of individuals in service. For example, in the beehive the genes of different worker bees – nurse, farmer, forager, warrior – are epigenetically programmed to differentiate them to perform their specific tasks. If they do not serve their higher order structure, the beehive will die and so will the bees. Anarchic behaviour in worker bees causes destruction of the beehive and death of the bees.
Ecosystems, Planets, Solar Systems and Galaxies
As the model moves from populations to ecosystems in Figure 2, it will be obvious to the attentive reader that we have departed from the concept of conglomeration of multiple parts into a higher order structure at each level. Ecosystems are not an aggregate of populations of flora and fauna. Here, another hierarchy of increasing complexity of non-life is introduced – the soil, rocks and mountains, and rivers, lakes and oceans of the ecosystems – in which to place the living populations of animals and plants. Beyond ecosystems the model returns to conglomeration of parts to make a greater whole – ecosystems to planets, planets to solar systems, solar systems to galaxies.
Also, at this point, it is time to observe two further 'rules' I have postulated within the system. We have been looking so far at two rules – interconnectedness within and between levels of increasing complexity, and service of parts to their higher order structure at each level. A third rule is that, even though the parts are in service to their higher order structure at each level, the parts do not know what they are serving. However, if they do not serve correctly the higher order structure will not survive. The fourth rule is that the whole is looking after its parts at each level. The next level of complexity included in this hierarchy is the ecosystem. An ecosystem is an interconnected biological community of interacting life forms and their physical environment. It will have the right pastures for the herbivores, the correct herbivore to predator ratio, it will have rivers (and maybe an ocean) and mountains and forests. The parts are in harmonious interconnected service to the whole for survival of the ecosystem. The mechanisms are known. As we know, if the forests are destroyed, if a river is diverted, if the top predator is removed (e.g., the wolves in Yellowstone Park), these disturbances can unbalance the whole interconnected system leading to the destruction of the ecosystem.
And the case is the same with the next level – our solar system. Although we trust that our planet will safely look after us in the future, a glimpse at the past is not so reassuring as it contains inhospitable ice ages and a meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. And now, our planet is threatened by climate change and the melting of the ice caps or, possibly, a solar flare. Indeed, only last year, Nature published a report of a distant star spitting out a giant flare that packed 100,000 times more energy than any seen from Earth's sun (Argiroffi et al., 2019). This is the first clear detection of a remote star emitting a kind of eruption known as a coronal mass ejection that until now have only been seen from our sun. The authors state – 'such explosions may wreak havoc on surrounding worlds.'
In Conclusion
"We have reached our galaxy and the cosmos, and we can summarise the preceding arguments in the following key points:
1. A view of a hierarchy of interconnectedness between, and within, levels of increasing complexity from atom to cosmos. There is a survival advantage, which drives evolution, in increasing complexity due to the coming together of parts into a greater whole. Everything exists in a field of belonging. Outside that field the parts cannot exist.
2. At each level the parts are conscious – aware of, or detecting, or sensing, their surrounding environment, and responsive to change, in service to their higher order structure. The material mechanisms of service are largely established and known at each level of complexity.
3. The parts do not know what they are serving.
4. The higher order structures are caring for their parts. Some important consequences flow from this scheme as follows:
a. Interconnectedness means that reverberation (or flux) can move through the whole system, top down or bottom up or middle out. For example, a solar flare, or human interference, might disrupt ecosystems, scattering populations to new environments, leading to cellular adaptation and reprogramming of genes. Or the human race could become extinct leading to recovery of damaged ecosystems.
b. Flux through the system leads to events that do not seem to have a material mechanism because consciousness – awareness and response to change in surroundings – is happening across several levels of complexity. This allows the possibility that aspects of the paranormal might be explained in this way – certainly in space (e.g., remote viewing).
However, it is not so clear how paranormal events happen across time, for example
telepathy between previously interconnected elements in the hierarchy. Here, connections
made between individual aspects in the interconnected system due to flux must be
recorded in some way and recoverable later. What could be the mechanism of recording
previous events in time and re-membering?
c. Service of parts to the higher order structure to which they belong is essential for survival at all levels of complexity and ensures development in evolution. However, it is important to note that this is not an imperative because it is also essential that there is turnover – the replacement of the old with the new. Extinction is equal to creation – for all species that exist on earth today an approximately equal number have become extinct. So, equally, the hierarchy model can be seen in reverse orientation as the higher orders of complexity return to molecules and atoms. The rule is that death equals birth. One wonders whether this implies that birth and death apply to our whole cosmos.
d. This scheme of things establishes consciousness as the unity of everything, and the belonging to the unity of all things in service to their higher order structures and the whole. It shows that consciousness is primary and that matter is derivative from consciousness (as defined in this paper). It fits with the experience of individual consciousness of the individual part located at its particular position in the hierarchy, and the experience of consciousness of the whole through the interconnectedness and belonging to everything else. It celebrates belonging, and meaning, and purpose, for everything on planet earth and beyond. This creates a sense of a spiritual context even though the scientific approach is material.
e. In humans, unconditional service, often imbued with the sense of unconditional love, is an evolutionary selectable in that it activates the pleasure centres of the brain. Beyond that, unconditional love for all beings and every thing works to support the flourishing of all. Loss of service, or anarchy, leads to loss or, in this scheme, extinction.
Conclusions
In the introduction, it was suggested that individual humans personally experience that they possess their own consciousness but sometimes they can have a sense of belonging to a much greater consciousness of the whole. The same could apply to our dual experience of free will and predestination. In the scheme presented here, both could be true depending on the viewpoint – whether the observer is viewing self from their own particular location in the hierarchy or, in dropping the mind, has gone outside of self into possible experience of the reverberating interconnected whole (a 'peak experience' ). One might ask what does it mean to drop the mind? Observation of our own human mind activity shows that it seems to exist in past and future. Indeed, projection of past into future could be seen as an imperative for survival of the physical self and its ego. Dropping the mind has an experience of presence - no past and no future.
We also observed that the study of consciousness was complicated by whether the analysis was from the viewpoint of the human mind or from a perspective of pervasive consciousness throughout existence (panpsychism). The latter view, followed in this paper, was prompted by the Oxford Dictionary definition of consciousness as 'aware of, and responsive to, surroundings' and the author's own experience as an experimental biologist. In addition, we noted that consciousness studies are further complicated by the many approaches depending on the background discipline of the scholar – religious/mystical, philosophical, psychological, quantum physics, geological and biological.
The approach here is not concerned with quantum mechanics. My observer relationship in this scheme does not alter the understanding of the biology of increasing complexity in the hierarchy of evolution. It derives purely from my own experience in biological research at many levels of study - observing and playing with evolving life forms. It is just another view to add to the already existing multiple views of consciousness. It may be simplistic but it does however remove what is clearly known from reproducible science from the darker areas of confusion created by quantum mechanics and philosophical and psychological analyses of consciousness. Finally, can we draw a line at the top of this hierarchy? Remembering that parts cannot know who or what is being served at all levels, and that the higher order structures are looking after their parts, we cannot yet know the next higher order structure beyond cosmos. It is plausible to argue that beyond this entire scheme of all that is known to exist, beyond cosmos, there may be a yet higher order of complexity."
Source
* Article: A Hierarchy of Consciousness from Atom to Cosmos. Marilyn Monk. INTEGRAL REVIEW August 2020 Vol. 16, No. 2