The 5 Stages of the “Origin of Intelligence” and Beyond

Max Bennett, in his book The Origin of Intelligence, explains the evolution of human intelligence through five innovations:

1. Steering

   • Simple neural networks that move in response to favorable or unfavorable environments

2. Reinforcing

   • Learning through rewards and punishments

3. Simulation

   • Imagining scenarios in the mind, predicting the future, and considering multiple possibilities

4. Mentalizing

   • The ability to grasp and predict the intentions, knowledge, and emotions of other beings (humans, animals)

5. Language

   • The development of language using symbols and grammar

     
     

We, however, interpret the conclusion a little differently.

We see the progression of biological functions above through the lens of spatiotemporal perception. From this perspective, intelligence is not merely about solving Q&A problems but more fundamentally about how beings perceive the world.

1. Space

   • Steering: dichotomous learning of space — “good/bad”

2. Time – Past

   • Reinforcing: learning through memories of the past

3. Time – Future

   • Simulation: predicting the future, modeling the world

4. We

   • Mentalizing: expanding thought from self to “we” by understanding you and me (metacognition, symbolization)

5. Refinement

   • Language: refining and conceptualizing the world, enabling collective imagination, shared fictions, and cooperation

❓ Then what could the 6th stage be?

We often define intelligence as the ability to question and answer, but in a broader sense, it may be better understood as the ways in which living beings perceive and sense the world.

🌐 Quryon’s Ontology opens up new perspectives on perceiving the world.

It goes beyond simple information structuring and, through metasymbolic knowledge, ✨ reveals unseen connections and meanings,

💡 offering new answers for thought.