Essay 9 - The Construction of Meaning (Level II)

Time goes by for our hominid ancestors (probably a lot of time) and escaping from lions is less of a concern. Their thoughts are focused on other things as well. Some of the trees are not only for safety but they bear fruit making them a source of food. Some of the trees have dead branches that can be used for firewood. Some have straight branches from which weapons can be made. Others have long branches from which shelters can be constructed.

Now when one of these early hominids sees a tree, they no longer automatically see safety. One might see a roaring campfire. Another might see a spear to hunt game with. Another might see building material to patch up a hut long in need of repair. And so on.

Now we have, not only a concept of a tree, and possibly a word for it, but we have multiple potential interpretations of that concept (warmth, weapons, food, shelter and so on). When our hominid ancestor sees the tree, he or she interprets its significance according to one of the many templates that provide different meanings. We are now at Level II meaning where we must go past what the object signifies and interpret the meaning according to one of many templates that point to different Level II meanings.

Abraham Maslow famously said that “if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.” This humorously insightful assertion provides an excellent example being stuck at Level I due to a lack of Level II templates which would allow for other interpretations. It is also what we referred to earlier at a Type U error.

This essay is 289 words long and the audio is about 2 1/2 minutes.