Of course, we could imagine minds more intelligent (greater memory, thinking speed, integration of knowledge), but this cognitively-biased and simplistic view of an advanced mind is not sufficient, for it leaves out, at the very least, ethics, emotions, values, and purposes. It lacks depth and imagination. Paradoxically, an ideal vision of an evolved human mind that is simply more intelligent is not very intelligent. An evolved mind would "feel" different; the sense of an evolved self-identity (it seems to me) would transcend our fuzzy, ineffectual, and (frequently) morally impoverished conscious selves. 

Recently, in researching and writing my new book on the evolution of science fiction, I came across and read two early classic novels that addressed the issue of evolved minds in very illuminating ways. The two novels are Two Planets (1897) by Kurd Lasswitz and The Amphibians: A Romance of 500,000 Years Hence (1924) by S. Fowler Wright. 

The first novel, written before H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (1898), with its infamous octopus-like malevolent Martians, describes in great detail an advanced Martian civilization, where the Martians are basically human in appearance but possess a set of psychological capacities that far exceed those of humans. The second novel, undoubtedly inspired by Wells' The Time Machine (1895), describes a future earth in which our modern species has disappeared and has been superseded by a variety of evolutionary offshoots, some more bestial and primitive, and some more evolved than contemporary humans.

These two novels illustrate how science fiction, at the very least, offers two different imaginative settings for envisioning more advanced minds than ours: We can move outward in time into a hypothetical future reality in which humans have evolved or even transcended to something higher in the evolutionary scale; or we can move outward into space into a hypothetical alien civilization in which we encounter alien minds that are superior to our minds. In both cases, we are projecting from the "here and now," from the way things are, attempting to describe something more advanced relative to whatever standards we believe are critical in defining a more evolved mind or consciousness. Wright's novel takes the first approach; Lasswitz's novel takes the second approach. 

Beginning with Lasswitz's novel, what first impresses the reader is the advanced science and physical technology of the Martians, but as the story unfolds it becomes clear that the Martians have both a much more cooperative society than humans and a much more evolved sense of mental self-control; indeed, they seem to have been able to create a world in which social cohesion and individual self-determination necessarily coexist. Critical to their psychology is the principle of self-responsibility; the Martians have developed a high level of autonomy and internal locus of control, where external factors or internal emotional states do not determine the direction of their thinking or their actions. They are masters of their own fate, having a deep sense of individual freedom. 

Moreover, their early education is focused upon developing their capacities of mental control and self-determination. Education is not so much an institution for exerting control over the youth, it is an institution for teaching the youth how to control themselves. Also, it is not grounded in memorization of facts and the physical sciences, but rather it is grounded in internal psychological capacities. Wisdom, as the Martians understand it, is at the center of their educational system. 

It is also noteworthy that their social cohesion is necessarily coupled with their individual self-control; social order does not preclude individual freedom but requires it; the society would fall apart without individual self-control. Hence, we have a "wise society" grounded in wise individuals. The social cohesion is built on choice rather than coercion. 

Within this hypothetical Martian civilization, technological evolution comes together with psychological evolution. Advances in the physical sciences and the application of this knowledge are a natural expression of their mental evolution. It is not an either-or situation, of choosing between psychological excellence or material power. A wise society (in this model) generates technological advances. Contrary to idealistic or spiritualistic visions of wisdom, science and technology are not seen as anathema to an evolved consciousness. (Although it does appear that it is the mental sphere and the ethics of the Martians that direct the evolution of the physical sphere.) 

A pivotal dramatic challenge in the novel concerns the clash of the two civilizations of Mars and Earth. The Martians do not wish to physically conquer the Earth, as in Wells' The War of the Worlds, but they do feel a sense of superiority over humans (while humans frequently feel the reciprocal, a sense of inferiority in the presence of the Martians), and the Martians wish to teach humans-to bring Earthlings up to their level-both at a techno-economic and a psycho-social level. This "education" is delivered with a sense of benevolence, but multiple problems and conflicts emerge, including the humans' primitive modes of thinking and feeling "infecting" some of the Martians. Can a superior mind maintain its level of excellence if it is immersed in a more barbarous and primitive environment? 

In Wright's The Amphibians, a present day human time-travels forward half a million years into the future. In this future realm, we find one version of humanity's descendants having biologically evolved into an amphibious form that is able to live both on land and under water. Just as in Lasswitz's novel, the advanced form of human feels a sense of superiority toward present day humanity, as represented by the time traveler. Yet, again, at least for some of the amphibious humans, there is a sense of benevolence and good will toward us.