HUMAN COLONY FORMATION 



ness could exist in the mind of even the genetically 

 most favorably endowed man who has been raised in 

 complete isolation from society? 



While the knowledge associated with this conscious- 

 ness exists in the minds of individual human beings 

 within society (to a greater or lesser extent depending 

 on the individual) , the full structure of this conscious- 

 ness involves the entire developing societal organism. 

 This structure includes such diversified matter as the 

 central nervous systems of many individual men. It 

 properly includes the matter comprising manuscripts, 

 books and other records by means of which intelligence 

 is stored and transmitted. One might even include in 

 the structure such members of human society, who al- 

 though they do not contribute directly to the advance- 

 ment of ideas and knowledge, are nevertheless through 

 their existence making it possible for others to do so. 

 One can therefore state that consciousness, the most 

 celebrated achievement of the human mind, is in re- 

 ality a manifestation of a developing mind (or its 

 equivalent) of the evolving human societal organism. 

 When viewed as such, human consciousness, while still 

 a marvelous phenomenon, becomes more comprehen- 

 sible. 



This analysis of the nature of consciousness is open 

 to the following objection. If all of society were to be 

 destroyed except for isolated individuals, these in- 

 dividuals would still possess their initial consciousness. 



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