Last time we explored unconsciousness, also known as self-centeredness, the lowest of the three stages of conscious design build and of creativity in general. It is marked by an individual’s desire to fulfill his own needs no matter what, often at the expense of others. Now lets go to the next level and see what we see.
Next, we have self-consciousness, the sign of a budding awareness attempting to solve the problems of self-centered unconsciousness. In the world of architecture, design, and building, the problems that self-consciousness tries to address include such things as aesthetic eye sores, safety issues, and energy efficiency issues, all of which are important challenges to address. But being self-conscious, being hyper-aware of both the existing problems and the desire not to create any new ones, the self-conscious individual ultimately becomes both impotent in their power and/or passive aggressive in the attitude, their impotence stemming from their refusal to address problems directly and their passive aggressiveness stemming from their refusal to express their own desires in favor of platitudes and niceties. It is a way of being that is unsatisfying for everyone involved. Like the selfish individuals, the self-conscious individual can also be narcissistic. In this case, however, he or she is obsessed with how they are perceived by others. Instead of expressing what is true for them on the inside, they are constantly censoring themselves, making interactions with this type of person frustrating; they seem to lack any real juice of vitality. The self-conscious individual attempts to do away with hierarchy, trying to make everyone and everything appear equal, ultimately turning its back on diversity in favor of watered-down sameness.
The ultimate expression of self-consciousness at the level of society is the politically correct movement. In the architecture, design, and building, self-consciousness is expressed by those individuals who attempt to demonstrate how green and forward thinking they are by tacking a few solar panels on a grossly inefficient project. In either case, due to narcissism, the self-conscious individual fails to take in a more integrated, full-systems approach.
Although it can be a step up from outright selfishness, self-consciousness can end up being either a more cunning expression of selfishness or a lifeless bureaucratic tangle of codes that choke the possibility of creativity, innovation, and great design. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designs Counsel (LEED) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) at present both fall under this category of self-consciousness, both incentivizing and penalizing designer and builders in order to build a more green, more accessible landscape. It should be noted that the ideas for greener, more accessible spaces come from a high level of consciousness. But the way they are implemented are often unsatisfactory.
Next time we’ll take the leap up to the highest level of awareness, consciousness, and see how it differs from the first two levels. Until then, pay attention to how self-consciousness plays itself out in your life. Don’t be ashamed or hard on yourself. We all do it to some degree.