The Topological Scaling of Consciousness: The World in the Perspectives of Economists and Technologists. No. 34.

The psychological concept of consciousness is examined in this article. It is argued that the intentionality of an individual's behavior is the key to the measurement and representation of his consciousness. The experiment examined concerns groups of students of business administration and civil engineering as well as professional economists, and their responses to models of future society. Topological structures are formulated based on the groups' responses in terms of various aspects of consciousness as it is here defined. Distinctive aspects characterize the groups such that they can be ordered on a scale from non-consciousness to consciousness. Increasing consciousness implies increasing conceptual autonomy in the respective group's cooperation with its environment, and consequently, also an increase in its chance to survive in competition. A 31-item list of references is included. (DB)