Big brain evolution: brakes on thought found (Evolution)

by David Turell , Sunday, April 15, 2018, 16:12 (2200 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID’s comment: this study looks at the s/s/c brain interface and shows the brain can stop unwanted thought. It looks as if the brain and the s/s/c are equal partners if the brain can reject thought it does not want to work with.

dhw: The study makes no mention of a s/s/c, and is not concerned with the origin of thought but only with material influences on thought and behaviour. The effects of disease and of drugs are both evidence for materialism.

DAVID: What is thought but evidence of an s/s/c at work?

dhw: I’m afraid we will have to break our s/s/c down to its components: self/soul/consciousness. Thought is evidence of self and consciousness, but materialists argue that the source of thought and consciousness is material (the brain), whereas dualists argue that the source is an immaterial soul. Nice try, though!

I think about it differently. Surprise! I view the study as indicating how intimately the brain and s/s/c are interfaced. The origin of thought is the soul, but part of the soul may not like an unwanted thought that appears, and uses a section of the brain to counter it. This implies the soul doesn't exert complete control on thinking if an unpleasant thought appears, but that is exactly what we experience in life.