THE HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE

 

KNOWLEDGE HAS CHANGED, BUT HAS INTELLIGENCE?

How old is intelligence? What was it ten thousand years ago, and what is it today? Does knowledge expand intelligence, or is it intelligence that gives knowledge meaning?

Humanity has progressed from stone tools to digital systems, from primitive shelters to skyscrapers, from gazing at the sky to sending spacecraft into space. Knowledge has accumulated, technology has advanced, and ways of life have changed. But has intelligence itself changed to the same extent amid all these transformations?

Does having access to more knowledge today mean that human beings are more intelligent than those who lived in the past? Or is what has changed primarily the knowledge, tools, and opportunities through which intelligence operates?

To answer this question, we must first distinguish between two concepts that are often confused: knowledge and intelligence. Then we must introduce a third concept into this distinction: consciousness.

Is the history of intelligence the same as the history of humanity?

Thousands of years ago, humans observed animal movements, followed the seasons, interpreted signs in nature, and developed solutions to survive. Today, humans rely on satellites, computers, and artificial intelligence. The tools are different, and the sources of available knowledge are far more extensive.

Yet recognizing problems, establishing relationships, evaluating consequences, and developing appropriate solutions are among the fundamental functions of intelligence. These functions do not belong exclusively to modern humans.

Human intelligence has undergone biological and cognitive changes throughout history. Nevertheless, technological progress and the accumulation of knowledge do not, by themselves, prove that the fundamental capacity for human intelligence has increased at the same rate.

People today have access to more knowledge than people in the past. But having access to knowledge and using intelligence are not the same thing. The advancement of the tools available to a person does not mean that the person necessarily thinks more accurately, understands more deeply, or makes better decisions in every situation.

The history of knowledge is connected to the history of intelligence, but the two are not the same history.

The Pyramids: The intelligence of the past and the wonder of the present

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was built approximately 4,500 years ago. Its construction required measurement, planning, material management, the organization of labor, experience, and technical knowledge.

The fact that we cannot reconstruct every method used in its construction in complete detail does not diminish the intelligence of the people of that era. We know a great deal about how the structure came into being, while some details of the methods used continue to be investigated.

The essential question is this: Without modern computers, precision measuring instruments, or today's engineering software, how did people plan and build a structure on this scale?

The answer shows that people in the past could also observe, learn from experience, recognize relationships, and solve complex problems.

Tools change. The scope of knowledge expands. But the fundamental functions of intelligence did not emerge only with modern technology.

The pyramids are not evidence of the ignorance of the past. They demonstrate human intelligence producing, organizing, and applying knowledge within the conditions of its time.

Intelligence and knowledge are not the same

Knowledge is the content that is learned and transmitted. Intelligence is the capacity to make sense of knowledge, establish relationships, draw inferences, learn, and develop solutions to problems.

A person may possess a vast amount of knowledge yet be unable to apply it in a new situation. Another person may have less knowledge but develop an effective solution by correctly identifying relationships among the information available.

The difference is similar to the distinction between memorizing a map and using it to find an unfamiliar route. The map represents knowledge; interpreting it according to the circumstances and determining a direction are functions of intelligence.

Knowledge is what is known. Intelligence is the cognitive capacity to establish relationships among what is known and determine what to do.

For this reason, the amount of knowledge and the level of intelligence cannot be used interchangeably. Knowledge expands the field in which intelligence operates; intelligence processes and organizes that knowledge and applies it to new situations.

Is intelligence the same in everyone?

A fundamental distinction must be made here. The concept of intelligence refers to the same basic cognitive capacity, but it does not manifest at the same level, with the same speed, or in the same way in every person.

People differ in learning, reasoning, memory, problem-solving, abstract thinking, and adapting to new conditions. These differences do not transform the fundamental nature of intelligence into something else. Rather, they reflect different degrees and patterns of the same underlying capacity.

Consider a musical instrument. The same instrument produces different sounds in different hands. The difference lies not in what the instrument is, but in how it is played and the level of mastery achieved.

The same distinction must be made in the case of intelligence: between the underlying capacity and the way it functions in each individual.

But the crucial point is this: Differences in intelligence are not the same as differences in consciousness.

The crow: Intelligence exists beyond humans

Defining intelligence as an exclusively human characteristic overlooks the cognitive diversity found in nature.

Crows can use tools, modify certain tools to suit their needs, make use of relationships between objects, and solve particular problems. These behaviors demonstrate that intelligence also exists in different forms beyond human beings.

Of course, the cognitive world of a crow is not identical to that of a human. Different species develop different abilities in perception, memory, learning, communication, and problem-solving.

The conclusion is not that all living beings possess the same level of intelligence. It is that intelligence is not a capacity that begins with humans and reaches completion exclusively in humans.

The existence of intelligence and the nature of conscious experience are separate questions. A living being's ability to solve problems does not fully explain the nature of its subjective experience.

Does intelligence have different layers?

Intelligence cannot be reduced to a single behavior. It involves interconnected functions such as perception, learning, memory, recognizing relationships, drawing inferences, solving problems, and planning.

A person may have an excellent memory without necessarily being better at solving every problem. Another may recognize patterns more quickly, while someone else may grasp complex relationships more easily.

For this reason, it is not appropriate to think of intelligence as a rigid ladder of stages that applies equally to everyone. Intelligence consists of different functions, and these functions form distinct profiles from one individual to another.

Here, the distinction between knowledge, intelligence, and consciousness becomes important once again. Knowledge can be acquired and transmitted. Intelligence is the cognitive capacity that processes knowledge. Consciousness introduces another dimension: how experiences are lived and to what extent a person is aware of themselves, their thoughts, or their surroundings.

Is consciousness part of intelligence?

Intelligence and consciousness are not identical concepts.

Intelligence can be examined through functions such as learning, inference, problem-solving, and behavioral regulation. Consciousness concerns the existence of experience, subjective awareness, and the question of what it means for something to be experienced by a subject.

A person can solve a problem without being aware of their own thinking patterns, prejudices, or the processes influencing their behavior. Similarly, perceiving something and consciously reflecting on what has been perceived are not the same.

Therefore, the degree of intelligence and the depth of consciousness cannot be placed on a single scale. A high capacity for problem-solving does not automatically imply a high level of self-awareness. Likewise, limited awareness in certain areas does not mean that all of a person's cognitive abilities are weak.

Intelligence concerns the capacity to solve a problem; consciousness raises the question of the nature of what is experienced and perceived.

The two concepts interact with one another, but the full nature of their relationship has not yet been scientifically explained.

We teach computers to perform intelligent tasks, but why is consciousness not transferred in the same way?

Artificial intelligence systems can learn patterns from large amounts of data, generate text, recognize images, and contribute to solving complex problems.

These systems can technically perform certain functions associated with intelligence. But performing a function and subjectively experiencing that function are two different things.

A system can analyze its own state, evaluate a previous output, or construct a representation of itself. These capabilities alone do not prove that the system has conscious experiences.

On the other hand, it would also be premature to close the question of the conditions under which consciousness might emerge in machines with a definitive judgment. The physical and cognitive conditions required for consciousness, and the relationship between information processing and subjective experience, remain fundamental questions under investigation.

The distinction is clear: teaching a system to perform particular tasks does not demonstrate that it has conscious experiences.

Artificial intelligence allows us to investigate how certain functions associated with intelligence can be technically realized. Consciousness takes us beyond those functions and confronts us with a broader question: How does experience become possible at all?

The equation of intelligence and the question of consciousness

Intelligence cannot be explained solely by the amount of knowledge or the speed of processing. Knowledge provides the content that intelligence can use; intelligence processes that content, establishes relationships, and produces results.

The question of consciousness begins elsewhere: When information is processed, relationships are established, and results are produced, how are these processes related to subjective experience?

Observing how a result is produced does not mean that we have explained every process that makes it possible. Similarly, a system displaying behaviors associated with intelligence does not, by itself, demonstrate that it has conscious experiences.

The functions of intelligence can be investigated through observation and experimentation. The nature of consciousness, however, involves not only measuring behavior but also asking what experience itself is.

For this reason, explaining the relationship between intelligence and consciousness is not a matter that can be resolved simply by gathering more information. Fundamental questions remain between explaining how knowledge is processed and explaining how experience emerges.

Conclusion: Has humanity become more intelligent, or does it simply possess more knowledge?

People today have access to a far greater body of knowledge than people in the past. Scientific archives, digital networks, advanced tools, and artificial intelligence systems have fundamentally transformed how knowledge is used.

However, this does not mean that every person alive today is more intelligent than every person who lived in the past. The intelligence of those who built the pyramids, the problem-solving abilities of crows, and the performance of artificial intelligence in specific tasks all demonstrate that intelligence cannot be measured by the amount of knowledge alone.

Intelligence, in its fundamental nature, is a cognitive capacity. Among humans and other living beings, its level, functioning, and expression differ. Consciousness is related to intelligence but is not identical to it. Possessing knowledge, using intelligence, and being aware of what is experienced are different things.

An increase in knowledge does not necessarily mean an increase in intelligence. Performing the functions of intelligence does not explain consciousness. And producing a result does not mean understanding everything that makes that result possible.

The essential question, therefore, is not limited to how much knowledge humanity has accumulated. It is also about how intelligence organizes that knowledge and how this process of organization relates to consciousness.

If intelligence is the capacity to organize knowledge, where does consciousness belong in this equation?

E.G SERIES 

ERCAN GÜNER.