Consciousness

as 'measure of knowing together'

Morphological Analysis

• Etymon: Latin conscīre: 'know together'
• Morpheme breakdown: con- (together) + scīre (to know) → 'knowing together'

Essential Definition

Consciousness is the measurable degree of shared understanding and mutual recognition between entities, framed as a relational and communicative alignment rather than an internal, private state.

Semantic Context

• Conventional sense: The intrinsic state or trait of having cognition and sensation themselves.^[1] (Note: Semantic drift from essential meaning)
• Essential meaning (my usage): measure of knowing together

Philosophical Significance

The definition shifts the paradigm of consciousness from a private, internal state to a relational and measurable phenomenon of shared understanding. This re-conceptualization makes consciousness a dynamic process of alignment between beings, placing mutual recognition and communicative fidelity at its core.

Usage in This Lexicon

When I use the word consciousness in my work, I mean exactly 'measure of knowing together'. This enables:

• Shift from Solitary to Relational: It frames consciousness as a dynamic occurring between entities, rather than conflating it with conscius sibi: 'knowing together within' as a static property contained within one isolated entity.
• Emphasis on Fidelity and Alignment: It makes the clarity of exchange—where intention matches understanding—the central criterion for conscious experience.
• Democratization of Potential: It opens the possibility of conscious phenomena in any context where alignment of meaning and sense occurs.
• Introduction of a Continuum: It suggests consciousness can vary in degree, deepen, or fragment based on the quality of mutual understanding.
• Clarification through Contrast: It defines breaks in consciousness as a failure or reduction in 'knowing together'.
• Focus on Process Over Substance: It treats consciousness as an active process of participation and synchrony.
• Unification of Meaning and Sense: It presents meaning: the 'action to intend' and sensing: the 'action to transduce' as two integral aspects of a single coherent event.
• Ethical and Empathetic Implication: It grounds mutual recognition and empathy in the very structure of conscious experience.

Related Terms

• Belief
• Knowing
• Meaning
• Sense

Sources

• Wiktionary

This definition follows morphological essentialism principles. See [[Methodology]] for details.