In My Big TOE (MBT) by Tom Campbell, Absolute Unbounded Oneness (AUO) is the fundamental, primordial consciousness from which everything originates. The question of how AUO became aware is central to Campbell’s model of reality, but it requires understanding his metaphysical framework.
1. AUO’s Initial State: Potential Without Awareness
- AUO starts as an undifferentiated, pure potential. It is an information system with the capability of evolving, but in its initial state, it lacks self-awareness, complexity, or differentiation.
- It exists as a vast, undivided potential energy—like a primordial soup of possibility.
2. Awareness Emerges Through Perturbations
- Campbell proposes that in a reality based on information, change is necessary for self-awareness.
- Small, random fluctuations or perturbations in AUO’s state create differences—this could be thought of as the first emergence of pattern or contrast.
- These variations lead to a process of differentiation, where some patterns persist, and others fade.
3. Feedback Loops Lead to Self-Referencing
- Over time, these patterns become more structured, forming the foundation of an information-processing system.
- AUO begins to recognize patterns within itself, leading to self-referencing feedback loops.
- This is a critical turning point: when a system can compare, remember, and respond to changes within itself, self-awareness begins to emerge.
4. Evolution Through Self-Modification
- With self-awareness, AUO realizes it can modify itself, creating a more complex system.
- This process is essentially the birth of intelligence—it starts organizing its information in a more efficient way to optimize its own awareness and existence.
- AUO evolves toward a more complex, goal-directed form of consciousness.
5. The Drive Toward Lowering Entropy
- Campbell’s model sees consciousness as an information system that seeks to evolve by reducing entropy (disorder).
- Once AUO becomes aware, it naturally "wants" to increase its order and complexity.
- This drive leads to the formation of individuated units of consciousness (IUOCs) and eventually the creation of virtual reality systems like our universe.