> recursive mind
https://www.amazon.com/Recursive-Mind-Origins-Language-Civilization/dp/0691160945
A system of mental associations, memory, juggling mental pictures, that has evolved into the focused rational mind, expressed in varying degrees in modern humans.
For your reading list -- 'The Recursive Mind: the origins of human language, thought and civilization'
This book is more about consciousness than about reproduction, but it's loosely related. In a kind of 'As above, so Below' type of way, if you catch my meaning.
I had a similar thought to yours except within the context of a matrix-like virtual reality; for example, if reality is a big operating system on a computer....then your parents kind of bootstrap a new virtual guest which is your consciousness when you are born. If this is the case, how then does your experience not collapse when they physically die? Then I came up with a bootstrapping concept that creates a pointer to the universal consensus 'virtual reality' that tethers you there. Because otherwise, we'd all be trapped as virtual hosts in the disembodied consciousnesses of deceased parents, who in turn are tethered to our deceased ancestors all the way back to source in an infinite soul-tether to the quantum foam zero point, the monad, the ultimate unity, the singularity at the beginning/end of time that is the All or God. Perhaps the latter scenario is how we are all really part of the same "All" if you dissolve boundaries in complete dissociation. It's why ketamine 'takes you there'
You might like this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Recursive-Mind-Language-Civilization/dp/0691160945
Ill check that out, that's right up my alley.
I think it is definitely important to recognize just how removed from nature humans have become, especially in a philosophical context. Arriving at hard line to define what is or isn't natural is quite difficult though.
If you like this sort of stuff I have some book recommendations too that are along the same lines:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Recursive-Mind-Language-Civilization/dp/0691160945
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062316095?vs=1 (author of this one is a bit opinionated, but still the book is very worh it.)