method
active
method:mirror-of-the-self-experimentMirror-of-the-self experiment
Experimental protocol developed by Alexander in the 1970s: subjects compare two configurations and choose which is more like their eternal self, yielding consistent cross-cultural agreement.
Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count
Frameworks (1)
framework
- Wholeness and CentersimplementsOverarching conceptual scheme from The Nature of Order where a whole makes its parts, which are called centers, and centers intensify each other.
Methods (1)
method
- mirror of the self testrelated_tosame_asA method introduced in Book 1 where observers compare their feeling of self with the life in a candidate thing; Alexander claims it correlates with observed life in thousands of centers.
Chapters (1)
chapter
- Chapter 3 of Book 4 'The Luminous Ground', presenting the concept of the I and the reality of relatedness between self and world.
Related by similarity (8)
cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edgeEntities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.
- The question Alexander poses about the ontological implications of the experiment.
- The phenomenon that objects with more living structure appear to us as more resembling our own eternal self.
- Central methodological claim of the chapter, supported by multiple experiments.
- The ability of reasoning LLMs to review and revise previous reasoning steps during inference
- The reciprocal effect: doing the test deepens self-knowledge and judgment.
- Describes the transformative potential of the test.
- The behavioral paradigm (mark/sticker placed on face, checked in mirror) used to evaluate self-awareness in animals and infants