Identifying consciousness in other creatures, whether animals or undiscovered exotic beings, is a major scientific challenge. The authors propose three necessary steps: first, define the specific kind of consciousness of interest; second, identify key differences in human brain processes associated with consciousness versus those that are not, using passive frame theory; third, generalize these human insights to other creatures. They emphasize understanding how evolution—a haphazard, tinkering process that can produce suboptimal and counterintuitive adaptations—shaped consciousness. The more that is understood about the differences between conscious and unconscious processing in humans, the easier it will be to identify consciousness elsewhere.
Attention operates on a sliding scale of time and space compression, ranging from the diffuse, unconscious cognitive unconscious to the tightly compressed conscious awareness of the present moment. Existing theories of consciousness fail to adequately address the role of attention in the cognitive unconscious or account for consciousness across diverse animal species and forms. A sliding scale theory proposes that conscious awareness emerges as a property of tight time and space compression, which produces especially clear signals. The present moment's compression enhances this process, offering an evolutionary explanation for conscious awareness.
Quantum physics and Jungian psychology both describe a non-empirical realm of the universe composed not of material things but of invisible forms that have the potential to appear in the empirical world. This realm of potentiality gives rise to physical structures in the external world and to archetypal concepts in the human mind. The evolution of life is therefore not merely adaptation of species to their environment but adaptation of minds to increasingly complex forms in cosmic potentiality. The human mind is inherently mystical, connected to this underlying cosmic order.