RE: Why are human brains bigger?

From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Tue May 23 2000 - 14:46:52 BST

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Subject: RE: Why are human brains bigger?
Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 09:46:52 -0400
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From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
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    On 05/23/00 08:34, Vincent Campbell said this-

    >Let us assume that animals have beliefs, requiring them in order to act.

    Vs. Let us assume that humans have no beliefs, and do not require them in
    order to act.

    And we can look at this side of things with much more ease, due to animal
    behaviors that closely approach cultural actions (tic-picking,
    food-sharing, courtship rituals) much more readily than we can look at
    the first side of things, with all its rampant anthropomorphisizing of
    these same behaviors.

    There is a _possibility_ that all we as humans do is below, or
    unconstrained, or unneeding of consciousness, and that what we are
    actually feeling is just that- feelings- arousals from the senses that
    could be completely ignored with little consequence. Enlightenment is
    numbness. Memes are dross left over from unheeded feelings, spilled milk,
    and culture is all apology and contrition, and ritual explanation.

    It is more fruitful, IMHO, to look from this perspective- man as
    reflected and reflecting feeler in an otherwise automatic realm. It
    explains many things.

    And in many ways, it keeps us more continuous on this earth. And it loses
    the soul, and good riddance.

    - Wade

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