# Hierarchy of Cognition **Entity class:** Comparative framework **Domain:** Cognitive science / machine intelligence / comparative cognition **Maturity:** Developing ## Definition A **hierarchy of cognition** orders agents by performance or capacity across specified cognitive tasks. The phrase is meaningful only when the dimension is named: memory, language, planning, abstraction, social inference, learning speed, sensorimotor control, or another measurable capability. ## Machine-Intelligence Context [[blog/20261007 - The Prayers of Primates|The Prayers of Primates]] uses the phrase for the movement of [[wiki/Machine Intelligence|Machine Intelligence]] beyond human performance in symbolic domains. The concept routes into [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] when capability differences alter power, dependence, or the place humans assign themselves. ## Evidence Boundary Outperformance on one benchmark or domain does not establish a single global ladder of minds. Capability is multidimensional, benchmark performance does not prove consciousness, and superior prediction does not by itself establish wisdom, moral authority, intention, or a legitimate claim to rule. ## Relationships - [[wiki/Primatology|Primatology]] - [[wiki/Theory of Mind|Theory of Mind]] - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] - [[wiki/Machine Intelligence Continuum|Machine Intelligence Continuum]] - [[wiki/Submission to Hierarchy|Submission to Hierarchy]]