About

What “The Fourth Layer” means

The name is inspired by Earth's layers and uses them as metaphor for human experience. Just as Earth is structured beneath its surface, human life operates across multiple layers: daily behavior and routine, biological and emotional regulation, philosophical interpretation of meaning and uncertainty, and a core sense of self that evolves throughout life.

How this project approaches being human

We are at an interesting intersection of human civilization. What does it mean to be human with the growth of AI? It is important that we are able to recognize and work the machinery and mechanism that is currently known to being a human being. Humans are a living, breathing, meaning-making animal, that has been in existence for about 300,000 years (not speaking on earlier human ancestors). Due to the complexity of being human, the idea of "one size fits all" narrative still fails me. We do share certain realities and constraints such as mortality, vulnerability, and connection. This project is to help us explore which layer we are operating on in this game of life, why and when do we destabilize, fragment, grow or get subsumed. It is also fun to be curious, to explore, and to laugh at the absurdity of life when everything else falls.

What this project is (and isn’t)

• It is: exploratory, interdisciplinary, and open to revision.
• It isn’t: a diagnostic tool, a therapy replacement, or a rigid personality system.
• It’s for: people who want language for patterns without turning language into something restrictive or absolute.

About the creator

Tammy McConaty is an independent researcher and the creator/host of The Fourth Layer. The research framework developed within this project is called Layered Existentialism.