= "offers a pictographic representation of cosmic evolution as occurring in four distinct phases: Matter, Life, Mind, and Culture." [1]

Description

Gregg Henriques:

1.

"The Tree of Knowledge System (as a) Unified Theory offers a new consilient vision of scientific knowledge that solves the problem of psychology, and explicitly depicts how the domain of psychological knowledge exists in relation to the other special sciences."

(http://www.gregghenriques.com/uploads/2/4/3/6/24368778/evofrommethconunif.pdf)

2.

"The Tree of Knowledge (ToK) System is the first key idea in the Unified Theory of Knowledge. It is a theory of scientific knowledge that defines the human knower in relation to the known. It achieves this novel accomplishment by solving the problem of psychology and giving rise to a truly consilient view of the scientific landscape. It accomplishes this via dividing the evolution of behavioral complexity into four different planes of existence. Life, Mind, and Culture emerge out of the dimensions beneath them as a function of complexity building feedback loops that are self-organizing and mediated by novel systems of information processing and communication. The ToK also characterizes modern empirical natural science as a kind of justification system that functions to map complexity and change."

(https://www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org/8-key-ideas/the-tree-of-knowledge)

Discussion

From the Wikipedia:

"The tree of knowledge (ToK) system is a new[when?] map of Big History that traces cosmic evolution across four different planes of existence, identified as Matter, Life, Mind and Culture that are mapped respectively by the physical, biological, psychological and social domains of science. The Tree of Knowledge (ToK) System was developed by Gregg Henriques, who is a professor and core faculty member in the Combined-Integrated Doctoral Program in Clinical and School Psychology at James Madison University.[1] The ToK System is part of a larger Unified Theory of Knowledge that Henriques describes as a consilient scientific humanistic philosophy for the 21st Century.

The official Unified Theory of Knowledge website describes the ToK System as:[2]

"[A] theory of scientific knowledge that defines the human knower in relation to the known. It achieves this novel accomplishment by solving the problem of psychology and giving rise to a truly consilient view of the scientific landscape. It accomplishes this via dividing the evolution of behavioral complexity into four different planes of existence....The ToK also characterizes modern empirical natural science as a kind of justification system that functions to map complexity and change.

The outline of the ToK System was first published in 2003 in Review of General Psychology.[3] Two special issues of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in December 2004[4] and January 2005[5] were devoted to the elaboration and evaluation of the model. In 2008, a special issue of Theory & Psychology[6] was devoted to the ToK System. In 2011, Henriques published A New Unified Theory of Psychology. That same year he also launched the blog Theory of Knowledge: A Unified Approach to Psychology and Philosophy on Psychology Today, which remains active. There is also a Theory Of Knowledge Society and discussion listserve that is devoted to discussing Henriques' work and other big picture viewpoints.

In some ways, the ToK System reflects a fairly common hierarchy of nature and of the sciences that has been represented in one way or another since the time of Auguste Comte, who in the 19th century used a hierarchical conception of nature to argue for the existence of sociology. It also has clear parallels with Aristotle's conception of the scales of nature and the first four levels of the Great Chain of Being.

Despite some overlap with a number of traditional schemes, the ToK System is properly thought of as a new theory of both ontic reality and our scientific knowledge of that reality. One of the most important and salient features of the Tree of Knowledge is how it represents reality as consisting of four different planes of existence. The theory is that, following Matter, Life, Mind and Culture each represent complex adaptive landscapes that are organized and mediated by novel emergent information processing and communication systems. Specifically, DNA/RNA store information that is processed by cells which then engage in intercellular communication to create the plane of existence called Life. Similarly, the brain and nervous system store and process information in animals which then engage in communication networks on the complex adaptive plane called Mind. Finally, linguistic storage and processing and communication between human beings generates the emergence of the Culture-Person plane of existence.

The separable planes of existence or dimension of complexity argument is one of the most crucial aspects of the system. Many have argued nature is hierarchically leveled; for example, a list of such levels might be subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, cells, organ structures, multi-celled organisms, consciousness, and society is common. The ToK System embraces a view of nature as levels, but adds the notion that there are also separable dimensions of complexity. The difference becomes particularly clear in the extension of the ToK System into the Periodic Table of Behavior. The Periodic Table of Behavior (PTB) shows that natural science can be arranged in terms of the four fundamental dimensions (i.e., matter, life, mind, and culture) and three fundamental levels of analysis (i.e., part, whole, group). The PTB also demonstrates that behavior is a central concept in science. Epistemologically, natural scientists view the world via a third person behavioral lens. Ontologically, science is about mapping different kinds of behaviors that take place in nature at various levels and dimensions of analysis.

The second central insight of the ToK System is that it shows how natural science is a particular kind of justification system that emerges out of Culture based on novel methods and specific epistemological commitments and assumptions (i.e., an exterior view point, quantification and experimentation). This epistemology and methodology functions to justify scientific ontology, which in turn maps the ontic reality. Specifically, the domains of the physical, biological, (basic) psychological and social sciences map the ontic dimensions of matter, life, mind and culture. The Periodic Table of Behavior further shows how science is a justification system that is arranged to map behavioral frequencies at different dimensions of complexity and levels of analysis."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_knowledge_system)

Characteristics

Gregg Henriques:

Summary: References the basic ToK graphic:

"Joint points are the theories that link the dimensions.

Quantum gravity is the first joint point and is theorized to be the link between Energy and Matter. It refers to the theoretical merger between the twin pillars in physics: quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

The modern evolutionary synthesis is the joint point between Matter and Life, and refers to the merger of Darwin’s theory of natural selection with genetics. The modern synthesis can be thought of as the unified theory of biology because it provides the framework for understanding how complex, self-replicating organic molecules were ultimately transformed into organisms. Biology is a unified discipline precisely because it has a clear, well-established definition (the science of Life), an agreed upon subject matter (organisms), and a unified theoretical system that provides the causal explanatory framework for its emergence (the modern evolutionary synthesis). Some key elements of the modern synthesis will be explored later in the chapter, when we delve into Edward O. Wilson’s work.

Behavioral Investment Theory is the joint point between Life and Mind because it merges fundamental insights across the cognitive, behavioral, and neurosciences to provide a framework for understanding how Mind emerges out of Life.

Finally, the Justification Hypothesis is the joint point between Mind and Culture because it provides a framework for understanding the changes in the human mind that resulted in the evolution of self-consciousness and human culture.

(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251419612_The_Tree_of_Knowledge_System)

2. From the Wikipedia:

Planes of Existence

The Matter/Object plane of existence is mapped by the Physical Sciences

The dimension of matter refers to the set of material objects and their behaviors through time. In accordance with modern cosmology, matter is theorized to have emerged from a pure energy singularity at the Big Bang. Space and time were also born at such a point. Nonliving material objects range in complexity from subatomic particles to large organic molecules. The physical sciences (i.e., physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy) describe the behavior of material objects.

The Life/Organism plane of existence is mapped by the Biological Sciences

The dimension of life refers to organisms and their behaviors through time. Living objects are considered a unique subset of material objects. Just as quantum particles form the fundamental units of material complexity, genes are the fundamental units of living information. Although many questions about the emergence of life remain unanswered, in accordance with modern biology, the ToK posits that natural selection operating on genetic combinations through time is the unified theory of biology and forms the foundational understanding for the emergence of organic complexity.

The Mind/Animal plane of existence is mapped by the (basic) Psychological Sciences

Mind/cognition in the ToK system refers to the set of mental behaviors. Mental behaviors are behaviors of animals mediated by the nervous system that produce a functional effect on the animal-environment relationship. As such, Mind/cognition is essentially synonymous with what behavioral psychologists have meant when they use the term behavior. Thus, a fly avoiding a fly swatter, a rat pushing a bar or a human getting a drink of water are all mental behaviors. Mind is not synonymous with sentience or the capacity for mental experience, although such processes are presumed to emerge in the mental/cognitive dimension. Cognition, in the broad sense of the term is meaning bodily-neuro-social information processing, as in EEEE Cognition: Embodied, Embedded, Enactive, Extended. While cognitive science stands for naturalist study of mind, psychology is an approach grounded in the tradition of humanities, especially philosophy. Thus, by defining mind as mental behavior, Henriques argues that the ToK System provides a way to bridge the epistemological differences between cognitive and behavioral science.[3] Henriques argues that comparative psychology, ethology, and (animal) cognitive behavioral neuroscience should all be thought of as parts of the discipline that maps the animal-mental domain.

The Culture/Person plane of existence is mapped by the Human Social Sciences

Culture in the ToK system refers to the set of sociolinguistic behaviors, which range from large scale nation states to individual human justifications for particular actions. Just as genetic information processing is associated with the Life dimension and neuronal information processing associated with the Mind dimension, symbolic information processing emerges with the Cultural dimension.[3] Henriques argues that human cognitive science, human psychology and the social sciences (i.e., anthropology, sociology, political science, and economics) work to map this domain.

Theoretical joint points

Quantum gravity

"Quantum gravity refers to the imagined merger between the twin pillars of physical science which are quantum mechanics, the study of the microscopic (e.g., electrons), and general relativity, the science of the macroscopic (e.g., galaxies). Currently, these two great domains of science cannot be effectively interwoven into a single, physical Theory of Everything. Yet progress is being made, most notably through string theory, loop quantum gravity, black hole thermodynamics and the study of the early universe. Some of the difficulties combining these two pillars of physical science are philosophical in nature and it is possible that the macro view of knowledge offered by the ToK may eventually aid in the construction of a coherent theory of quantum gravity. The reason the ToK might help is that it locates scientific knowledge in relationship to the physical universe.

The modern synthesis

The modern synthesis refers to the merger of genetics with natural selection which occurred in the 1930s and 1940s and offers a reasonably complete framework for understanding the emergence of biological complexity. Although there remain significant gaps in biological knowledge surrounding questions such as the origin of life and the emergence of sexual reproduction, the modern synthesis represents the most complete and well-substantiated joint point.

Behavioral investment theory

Behavioral Investment Theory (BIT) is metatheoretical formulation for the mind, brain and animal behavioral sciences. Henriques proposes that it enables the merger of the selection science of behaviorism with the information science of cognitive neuroscience that has conceptual parallels with the modern synthesis. BIT posits that the nervous system evolved as an increasingly flexible computational control system that coordinates the behavioral expenditure of energy of the animal as a whole. Expenditure of behavioral energy is theorized to be computed on an investment value system built evolutionarily through natural selection operating on genetic combinations and ontogenetically through behavioral selection operating on neural combinations. As such, the current behavioral investments of the animal are conceptualized as the joint product of the two vectors of phylogeny and ontogeny. A unique element of BIT is that it finds a core of agreement and builds bridges between five brain-behavior paradigms: (1) cognitive science; (2) behavioral science; (3) evolutionary theory and genetics; (4) neuroscience; and (5) cybernetics/systems theory.

David C. Geary noted the similarities between his "motive-to-control" hypothesis and Henriques' Behavioral Investment Theory, which were developed independently of each other. Furthermore, Geary suggested that his model "seem[ed] to fill in many of the proximate mechanisms and evolutionary pressures that define the life-mind joint point, and provided a framework for further development of the mind-culture joint point."[7]

Justification Systems Theory

Justification Systems Theory (JUST; formerly known as the Justification Hypothesis) posits that the evolution of language reached a tipping point with emergence of propositional claims. Specifically, propositional claims can be questioned, which generates the "question-answer" dynamic. This creates the problem of justification, which Henriques argues drives both the design of the human self-consciousness system as a mental organ of justification and gives rise to the evolution of the Culture-Person plane of existence. JUST is a novel proposal that allows for both the understanding of the evolution of culture and for identifying what makes humans distinct animals. A basic initial claim of JUST is that the process of justification is a crucial component of human mental behavior at both the individual and societal level. Unlike all other animals, humans everywhere ask for and give explanations for their actions. Arguments, debates, moral dictates, rationalizations, and excuses all involve the process of explaining why one's claims, thoughts or actions are warranted. In virtually every form of social exchange, from warfare to politics to family struggles to science, humans are constantly justifying their behavioral investments to themselves and others.

JUST consists of three key postulates:

The first is that the evolution of propositional language must have created the problem of justification, which involves three interlocking problems of deciphering what is (1) analytically true and what is (2) good for the group and (3) good for the individual.

The second postulate is that the structure and functional design of human consciousness can be understood as a solution to the problem of justification. Specifically, the three domains of human consciousness that Henriques identifies in the Updated Tripartite Model of the (1) experiential; (2) private narrator; and (3) public narrator are directly consistent with adaptive pressures that arise from the logic of the problem of justification. This analysis deepens when one considers the dynamic relationships and filtering that takes place between these three domains.

The third postulate is that culture can be understood as large scale justification systems that coordinate the behavior of human populations. Cultural systems are seen to evolve much in the same way as organisms do in biological evolution: there is a process of variation, selection and retention of belief systems."