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In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery (2014)

Chapter: Part I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS

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Suggested Citation:"Part I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS." National Academy of Sciences. 2014. In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18573.
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Part I

CURRENT STUDY OF THE MIND–BRAIN RELATIONSHIPS

John Searle opens the proceedings with a philosophical introduction to the still-elusive question of consciousness. To discuss the eventual scientific approach to a theory of mind (ToM), the author analyzes the relationships between subjective feelings, such as mental issues, and objective (i.e., scientific) approaches to them. Distinguishing between ontologic and epistemic approaches to the subjectivity/objectivity issue, Searle holds that mental issues, such as consciousness, can be scientifically reached, concluding in this way: “I think the future of this entire discussion we have been having [in the colloquium] lies in a better understanding of the brain.” Indeed, this is the objective that initially led to the organization of this Sackler Colloquium.

ToM is also the approach chosen by Robert Seyfarth and Dorothy Cheney in Chapter 2. As the authors state, a subconscious, reflexive appreciation of others’ intentions, emotions, and perspectives lies at the roots of human ToM. The adaptive advantages of an attribution of thoughts and intentions to predict others’ behavior mainly consist of helping to form strong, permanent social bonds. Empirical study of monkeys’ relationships shows these bonds. Following this point, Seyfarth and Cheney give data on different kinds of social challenges among female baboons that are better solved by means of affiliative behavior.

Even if ToM is a good hypothesis to link close social relationships to mental constructs and reproductive success, an eventual border might separate human consciousness from nonhuman primates’ more “instinctive” behaviors. George Mashour and Michael Alkire focus on this even-

Suggested Citation:"Part I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS." National Academy of Sciences. 2014. In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18573.
×

tual difference in Chapter 3. On the grounds of a comparative review of neurobiology, psychology, and anesthesiology, the authors hold that the basic neurophysiologic mechanisms supporting consciousness in humans are found at the earliest points of vertebrate brain evolution. Mashour and Alkire propose to study this evolution by means of models coming from the recovery of consciousness after general anesthesia in animals.

Suggested Citation:"Part I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS." National Academy of Sciences. 2014. In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18573.
×
Page 1
Suggested Citation:"Part I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS." National Academy of Sciences. 2014. In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18573.
×
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Humans possess certain unique mental traits. Self-reflection, as well as ethic and aesthetic values, is among them, constituting an essential part of what we call the human condition. The human mental machinery led our species to have a self-awareness but, at the same time, a sense of justice, willing to punish unfair actions even if the consequences of such outrages harm our own interests. Also, we appreciate searching for novelties, listening to music, viewing beautiful pictures, or living in well-designed houses. But why is this so? What is the meaning of our tendency, among other particularities, to defend and share values, to evaluate the rectitude of our actions and the beauty of our surroundings? What brain mechanisms correlate with the human capacity to maintain inner speech, or to carry out judgments of value? To what extent are they different from other primates' equivalent behaviors?

In the Light of Evolution Volume VII aims to survey what has been learned about the human "mental machinery." This book is a collection of colloquium papers from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "The Human Mental Machinery," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 11-12, 2013. The colloquium brought together leading scientists who have worked on brain and mental traits. Their 16 contributions focus the objective of better understanding human brain processes, their evolution, and their eventual shared mechanisms with other animals. The articles are grouped into three primary sections: current study of the mind-brain relationships; the primate evolutionary continuity; and the human difference: from ethics to aesthetics. This book offers fresh perspectives coming from interdisciplinary approaches that open new research fields and constitute the state of the art in some important aspects of the mind-brain relationships.

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