The level of consciousness is associated with the capacity of that brain to find and refresh, in a continuos way, the position of the being in a model.
Such models are long-range models. Their elements are already developed as models. Some models can also contain some elements associated with the person. The number of planes of consciousness could be high.
Example: I am a Romanian citizen. I live in Europe, so I am also European. I have a job; I have a position there. I live in a block of flats; I have also a position in relation with the others who also live in my block of flats, and so on.
There are some models, which does not contain the person in an explicit way. This is level-1 of conciousness. Only some parts of that person are taken into account. The consciousness is of level 2 when the person appears in an explicit way in relation with other persons. On level 2, the person is integrated in a group; the person knows the aims and the rules of the group and acts accordingly.
Examples: when a person drinks water from a glass, the person does not appear in an explicit way; only some components of that person are taken into account. If the person knows what he is doing, and is able to predict his evolution, then he is on level 1 of consciousness. If a person plays a game in a team, and he knows the aims and the rules of the group and communicates with the members of the group, then that person is on level 2 of consciousness. On level 2, the person is integrated in the model, as an explicit element, as any other person of that group.
Problem: On level 2, a possible problem is to consider one's own activity as a good one, and to consider that some other members of the group are low quality persons. This could happen with a non-homogenous group, but also it is possible that the model is a low quality one (the person has made a low quality model associated with the aims and the rules of the group). As we know, any model is made to be stable (logical or harmonic). We also know that the stability of a model is not a guarantee that the model reflects in a good way the external reality. Thus, for a good level 2 of consciousness, it is necessary that all the members of the group have about the same basic model.
Observation: it is possible that faced with a new external reality, for which there is no available model, the PSM activates itself. As the PSM is activated, all the normal models are disabled and so the consciousness disappears. Such a situation is called "shock status". The consciousness returns only after the normal structure of models regains control.
The highest level of consciousness is level 3. There are few persons who are able to reach level 3 of consciousness. It is not easy to understand the explanations associated with this level.
On level 3, a person is able, e.g. to think with "the others' head". Also, on this level, a person is able to see how the others see him. This implies to make a model which contains the model of the group as an element in a longer- range model.
On level 3, the brain has to work very hard. There are few person who are able to do such an effort. It is harder to do such an effort on image models than on symbolic models. Usually, level 3 of consciousness is met on symbolic models. However, the word "empathy" can be associated on image models, with a low level 3 of consciousness.