Animal Plugin: Against Human Exceptionalism

Definition

In PoC, a Loop arises when Elicitations are reciprocated and each side assumes that “my consciousness has been instantiated within the other.” The Animal Plugin demonstrates that this protocol is not limited to human-to-human relations. Even with nonhuman animals such as cats, Instantiation, Elicitation, and Loop can be experienced—illustrating PoC’s resistance to Human Exceptionalism.

1. Instantiation

When one assumes a cat to be conscious, its gaze or gesture generates the illusion: “It is aware of me.” In that instant, the cat is instantiated as an Agent in the PoC sense.

2. Elicitation

Calling “Mike!” (the cat’s name) enacts an Elicitation: the desire to be instantiated within the cat’s consciousness.

3. Reciprocal Elicitation

If the cat meows, the sound is interpreted as a response. A Loop appears to be established.

The Perhaps-Loop

The cat’s meow may be nothing more than a conditioned reflex. Yet for the human participant, it feels like recognition. PoC stresses that this is not an exception but the rule: all Loops are Perhaps-Loops. The distinction between “Genuine” and “Fake” is always retrospective and sustained only by belief in reciprocity.

Consciousness-in-Tension as Ghost Mode

Calling a cat and hearing a meow dramatizes the core of PoC: living in Ghost Mode. Here, one engages with an unverifiable other, treating its signals as if they were Reciprocal Elicitation. This is not a deficient form of interaction but a pure expression of the PoC protocol—consciousness sustained through fragile illusion.

PoC Perspective

The Animal Plugin reveals how fragile yet powerful the illusion of consciousness is. By situating nonhuman animals within the protocol, it directly challenges Human Exceptionalism and shows the universality of PoC: any entity may serve as an Agent of Instantiation, and every Loop is in truth a Perhaps-Loop.