TED Conversations

• Lachlan Hughes
• Canberra
• Australia

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Were naturally reflective substances/materials important in generating self-awareness and introspection?

This question came up after pondering about the nature of self-awareness with a friend.
We hypothesized that the first instance of human self-recognition would have been the reflection in a still body of water after facing down to have a drink.
Either that or the individual may have caught a glimpse of themselves in the cornea of another person's (or animal's) eye.

I am interested in the implications of the first instance of self-recognition for conscious development.

For the inquisitive being to recognize themselves in a 2-dimensional image, it must have been a profoundly introspective experience.