1. Level - Instrintive Awareness

The Root of the Spectrum of Consciousness

Instinctive Awareness is not a level of consciousness in the classical sense. There is no clear realization of existence as something separate—inside and outside form a single, undifferentiated experience. At this level, we are still one with nature, immersed in the flow of life without self-reflection.

This level resembles a primordial innocence, a pure presence in the here and now, untouched by conceptual thinking. There is no abstraction, no mental constructs—just direct experience. It is a kind of Garden of Eden, characterized by pure awareness without Hintergedanken (ulterior motives, unspoken intentions, hidden intentions).

Life unfolds effortlessly, driven by survival instinct, genetic programming, and an underlying harmony with existence. There is no conflict between self and world because the self, as an independent identity, has not yet emerged. This level represents a state of being where the Fundamental Goodness of Life is simply lived, and not questioned.

Keywords

• Pure awareness – direct, unfiltered experience
• Reactivity & Instinct – spontaneous and immediate interactions with the environment and expression of the internal needs
• Survival & Reproduction – fundamental biological drives
• Genetic programming – inherited patterns of behavior and responses
• No awareness of time and death – an existence beyond conceptualization
• Absolute present – fully immersed in the now
• No ego – no sense of separate self
• Honesty – untouched by deception or calculation
• Life experience is pure and uncontaminated – no mental overlays, just being
• Oneness & No separation – self and world are not yet distinct
• Garden Eden – innocence, pre-reflective harmony
• No knowledge – no accumulated understanding, no abstraction
• Unconscious – yet deeply attuned to existence
• One body – integrated with life, no duality between observer and observed

The Foundation of Human Consciousness

Although the Instinctive Level is not typically classified as a level of human consciousness, it is essential to include it in the spectrum. It serves as the fundamental base upon which all other levels build, providing the raw, undifferentiated awareness from which consciousness gradually emerges. Without this foundation, the evolution of higher cognition would not be possible.

This primal awareness is not unique to humans. Scientific research suggests that certain animal species, such as dolphins^[1], chimpanzees^[2], elephants^[3], and magpies^[4], exhibit self-recognition by passing the mirror test—a widely accepted indicator of self-awareness. The ability to distinguish oneself from the external world marks the transition from pure instinct to an elementary form of conscious perception. This suggests that self-awareness does not appear suddenly but unfolds in stages, each one refining the perception of self and environment.

Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research reinforced this idea by challenging the long-held belief that consciousness was exclusive to humans. Her extensive observations of chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, revealed sophisticated behaviors such as tool use, problem-solving, and even strategic acts of aggression unrelated to survival needs. These findings blurred the once rigid boundary between human and animal cognition, demonstrating that elements of consciousness emerge progressively rather than in absolute distinctions.^[5] These insights reinforce the idea that human consciousness is not a binary state but a continuum, with the Instinctive Level serving as its earliest foundation.

Historical

The exact lineage of our direct ancestors remains unclear and is still a topic of debate. It is believed that our ancestors lived millions of years ago in Africa. Although there is no definitive evidence of their species, they are often referred to as the "Last Common Ancestor" (LCA) or "Pan-Homo Last Common Ancestor." Humans and chimpanzees likely shared these ancestors.

What is more clear is the time frame, around 6 to 7 millions ago Hominins (future humans) and Panins (future chimpanzees) enter the stage. Humans and chimpanzees share about 98-99% of their DNA, but our common path split at that moment. This genetic similarity reflects not only shared biological structures but also fundamental behavioral and cognitive parallels that trace back to our common ancestor.

Evolution took additional millennia, going through the pre-human period, to do the next step. Around 2 million years ago the genus Homo become part of evolution, multiple species emerged and disappeared. Some, like Homo habilis and Homo erectus, laid the groundwork for tool-making and migration. Others, like Homo neanderthalensis and Homo denisova, coexisted with early Homo sapiens before eventually vanishing. These extinct species represent different evolutionary paths within our lineage.^[6]

All these species have gone extinct, leaving Homo sapiens as the last surviving lineage. The exact reasons for their disappearance remain uncertain. Some theories suggest that climate change, resource competition, and disease played key roles. Others propose that the expansion of Homo sapiens contributed to their decline—whether through direct competition, territorial displacement, or interbreeding, which may have led to their gradual assimilation rather than outright extinction. However, the extent to which each of these factors contributed remains a subject of ongoing scientific debate.

What we know for certain is that wherever Homo sapiens settled, mass extinctions followed—most notably the disappearance of large animals, known as megafauna, which coincided with our arrival.

For most of our existence, Homo sapiens was an unremarkable species—our impact on the environment no different from that of any other medium-sized animal. But this changed. When we emerged around 300,000 years ago, the world did not immediately transform. For nearly 230,000 years, we remained just another species among many. Then came the Cognitive Revolution, around 70,000 years ago—an epochal shift that led to the development of complex tools, language, and eventually, civilizations.

The truth is, we have only recently distanced ourselves from the Animal Kingdom—or so we believe. As we shall see, we remain far more animalistic than we like to admit. This is why we recognize instinctive awareness as a fundamental level of human consciousness.

Identity

At this level, the concept of identity as we understand it today does not exist. There is little to no awareness of a separate self.

Instinctive awareness is deeply rooted in the subconscious, governing natural responses, learned behaviors, and primal instincts without requiring conscious thought. Like all animals, we function through subconscious processes that regulate not only essential bodily functions such as breathing, digestion, and heartbeat but also extend to seemingly complex actions—driving a car, playing sports, falling in love, or sensing danger. It acts as a reservoir of non-essential memories, shaping our emotions and influencing our cultural, genetic, and epigenetic conditioning.

Instinctive awareness plays a crucial role, especially in moments of stress or danger. The fight or flight response is a clear demonstration of how deeply instinct governs our actions. Yet, this is only the surface—our behavior is shaped by animalistic patterns far more than we tend to admit.

This level of awareness should not be underestimated, particularly in our modern, stress-driven world, where instinctual responses—especially those related to survival, fear, and sexuality—continue to shape nearly every aspect of human life.

Further reading

Footnote

1. In their study ‘Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence’, Diana Reiss and Lori Marino explain how the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) passed the mirror test. ↩︎
2. Gordon Gallup Jr's seminal work (1970) on the study of self-consciousness in animals. In his paper ‘Chimpanzees: Self-Recognition’, he observed that chimpanzees recognised themselves in the mirror and attempted to remove markings on their bodies that they could only see in the mirror. ↩︎
3. Plotnik, de Waal and Reiss (2006):** In the study ‘Self-recognition in an Asian elephant’, Joshua M. Plotnik and colleagues showed that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) pass the mirror test. ↩︎
4. The study by Prior, Schwarz and Güntürkün (2008) ‘Mirror-induced behaviour in the magpie (Pica pica): evidence of self-recognition’ proved that they also passed the mirror test. This is all the more remarkable as they are birds and not mammals. ↩︎
5. The 2017 documentary Jane, directed by Brett Morgen, provides a compelling visual account of her work and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the nature of awareness. ↩︎
6. The following extinct Homo species have been identified through fossil evidence, though new discoveries may refine our understanding of human evolution. - Homo rudolfensis (2.4 to 1.9 million years ago) - Homo habilis (2.4 to 1.4 million years ago - Homo ergaster (1.9 to 1.4 million years ago) - Homo gautengensis (2 million to 600,000 years ago) - Homo erectus (1.9 million to 110,000 years ago) - Homo georgicus (1.8 million years ago) - Homo antecessor (1.2 million to 800,000 years ago) - Homo heidelbergensis (700,000 to 200,000 years ago) - Homo cepranensis (500,000 to 350,000 years ago) - Homo neanderthalensis (400,000 to 40,000 years ago) - Homo naledi (335,000 to 236,000 years ago) - Homo longi (146,000 years ago) - Homo denisova (300,000 to 50,000 years ago) - Homo floresiensis (100,000 to 50,000 years ago) - Homo luzonensis (67,000 to 50,000 years ago). ↩︎