Heart vs Mind - What Makes Us Human

by ballistic 44 Replies latest jw friends

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Nevertheless it's all within the brain. Did we get there in the end? Best wishes to you.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I never said it was anywhere else but in the brain. Nevertheless, the evolutionary progression and the heirarchy in the mind is intuition first, reason second.

    A little on how sensory information is processed before it is packaged for our consciousness:

    http://www.brams.umontreal.ca/cours/files/PSY-6022A2006/PJolicoeur/Lectures/Luck2000.pdf

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Intuition, reason all in the mind absolutely so what makes us human heart or mind?. Remember it's all in the mind!

  • scotoma
    scotoma

    A thermostat is a good illustration. You have a bi-metalic strip that bends with temperature change. That's sensory.

    You have the circuit that closes when the bi-metalic strip bends enough to connect the cirucit. That's like brain or cybernetics which means to steer by choosing a direction.

    When the cirucuit is closed it activates the furnace which then works to alter the environment. The furnace is like the motor system of the body - muscles do the work.

    The invisible part of the thermostat system is the human need for a comfortable temperature.

    Nothing happens without "need". An emotional person is often called a "needy" person. Rational people will overule their needs to accomplish something they think is more important.

    The only thing that is more important than your "needs" is an emergency that would kill you or someone else or do serious harm to your future supply of something you need.

    The brain is a collection of set points "steering" you toward pleasure and away from pain.

    Human brains are different because of their ability to modify things so that they get more pleasure and they can calculate the probability of a danger to better avoid or manage it.

    The brain is best at managing "NO". If a man proposes marriage to a woman and she hesitates and says she needs to "think" about it, her answer most likely will be NO.

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    What is the point of the thermostat?.it is a switch senitive to heat /cold it is to operate the main function eg a boiler. The point is which is the main function which gives the desired outcome .The boiler, how the boiler is switched on is of no great importance the important thing is the boiler sensing the call for its operation. So for boiler read brain.for sensory read reaction. So the thermostat reacts to the temperature the boiler reacts to the thermostat which is only a trigger for the main event.

    The question is heart vs mind what makes us human?

    There is no awareness of emotion without the brain so mind wins ..In my humble opinion of course.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Galaxie, I'm not sure we are speaking the same language. I'm done repeating myself. Our intuitive mind was developed before the reason function.

  • ballistic
    ballistic

    Glad I stired a little debate. Galaxy, perhaps watch the link I posted at the start of this thread, there isn't really a better way to explain it than that, or maybe you just aren't ready for it yet, in your "heart" ;)

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Jgnat, you need repeat no more.I agree about intuition(instinctive knowledge)

    Ballistic, you understand by 'heart' you are referring to emotion .

    Both are reliant on the BRAIN! THEREFORE BRAIN (mind) WINS.

    If you disagree, on which part of the body do we rely on for these?

  • ballistic
    ballistic

    Let me try this from another angle. Chop the head of an earth worm off, it still functions ok. It's brain is so simple that it can function without it, still recoil from pain etc. This is an extreme example. But it would be possible to remove parts of the human brain (labotomy) and only remove parts of the outer cortex involved in higher level thinking, processing memories and senses etc.

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    Ballistic, you are moving into the realms of unrealistic!.The worm is not human!! And chopping of bits of the brain to leave a ceratain part of the brain? Now with respect you are bordering on the ridiculous .you will eventually come to the conclusion, we are human because of our brain no matter how many permutations (no pun intended)you come up with .Best wishes to you.

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