In a post a few days ago, I stated that I would comment in a future post on ways to conceptualize (to make models (maps) of) the human ability to understand ourselves. For lack of a better way of phrasing this: From the standpoint of naturalized epistemology, how can we conceptualize self reflection? I'm not going to act like I know how to proceed here, but I would suggest that the work of Jesper Hoffmeyer and others holds an important key. Hoffmeyer talks about DNA as a form of self reference (see Signs of Meaning in the Universe among other sources). The DNA within an organism is about that organism.
From this perspective, can we talk about our own conscious self reflection (or our creation of biological models of ourselves) as a higher order reflection? Can we inform our understanding of this reflection with what we know about DNA? Are there structural or functional analogues between these two types of self reflection?
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