Why does man have such a large fleshy brain organ?

-Bob-,

Too late (to put it bluntly).

Uh . . . yeah! That's exactly what I was saying.

I don't argue with ya on the possibility that we have souls that live after the body has died. But I wouldn't consider the brain useless because of the fact we have a soul.

Typical American . . . I should know, for I'm one too!

But back on topic now! Focus now!

There are . . . more of yer kind?!

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*Scoff* No, that's not true. I'm sure the only person on this or any Earth that thinks like ya do is you. Therefore, ye'r most definitely a kook.

*Gasp* I am . . . so . . . shocked!

Ya feel fine, yes. But so would I after some vodka, aside from a hangover. Ya can't feel yer brain cells dying, and ya don't feel different after brain cells die.

Another possibility (and one I doubt) is that ya haven't used enough of that shit. Go smoke a few dozen more joints. Lick a few more batches of shrooms. See where that takes ya.

Another bundle of factoids I can classify under "Stuff I'm okay with not knowing".

Too late.

Ya mean that useless brainflesh?

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Hyuck hyuck . . . Trolls are entertaining! I wonder what he'll do if we poke him. *Pokedy poke poke*

 

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I think it's a good question.
Why did we need such a big brain?
The human body could be considered an inferior design in some ways, which requires a decent brain to be successfull, but really our apelike ancestors could do ok with a moderately powerful brain half the size of ours and a body that was basically the same as ours.
The fact our brain is more than adequate is evidenced by the fact we aren't struggling to survive. Remember traits only need to be "good enough" to be favoured by evolution so this is peculiar.
I think the only explanation is the pressure from other humans rather than any environmental demands. The competition within the human species(or more accurately our ancestors), fighting over territory and so forth, must have gradually favoured genetic lines with superior intellect.
Ofcourse competition happens within every species, so this might seem like a poor explanation, but humans might have naturally relied on smarts for success in the first place rather than the lion for example who relies on strength and ferocity, and so became smarter and smarter with each generation, rather than stronger or faster or whatever.
Solved. I rock.

 

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Doctor Lou, thanks for the response. I hope my rejoinder will entertain you further.

Your explanation makes sense. But, I have an alternative explanation. Lets say that the human species was favored in competition by its soul, and the faculty of reason that goes along with the soul, right?

If so, then evolution wouldn't really favor big brains one way or another. So perhaps brains are just a signal of the insignificance of our biological makeup.

For instance. Modern man grows a large bum and thighs, but yet is still as competitive as his neighbors. Bum and Thighs take up a massive amount of bloodflow, and yet have no real evolutionary significance, much like the brain. This I think is a more powerful explanation, especially since the brain seems to be composed of fatty tissue, much like bums, thighs, and boobs.

Or maybe like large boobs, large brains increase the chances of getting laid. However, I don't see much evidence for this theory so far, as I explained before. Though people talk about "fucking so-and-so's brains out", and "mind-fucking", and also "mental masturbation", I have yet to actually see that crap happen.

So what do you got now, to refute my theory that the brain is just evolutionary trash baggage, which accumulates like the fat on my mighty ass in the wake of my soul doing all the dirty work and absolute competive advantage?

Your loyal idiot,

-Bob-

 

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Bob,

The fact that personality and mental ability are so sensitive to changes in brain chemistry (drugs, hormones etc.) - not to mention physical trauma - surely suggests that consciousness originates in the brain itself. It does to me anyway.

 

It would suggest that, but this is wrong. The body only dims the soul, entraps it. You can change the ways that the soul affects the body by affecting the body. But that doesn't affect the soul, i.e. the thinking and reasoning part.

Booze and drugs only block the influence of the soul upon the body. The eternal soul is ultimately unaffected by these things.

 

When you place your hand above your eye, and you stop seeing, does that necessarily mean that the seeing is caused by your actual eyelid?

 

Of course not, but it does imply that visual perception occurs due to a physical process which can be affected by this reality.

 

We are not talking about rats here. We are talking about human beings, who feel love and have consciousness and free will. Read the article I provided. Your puny deterministic laws are impotent, and cannot provide any explanation whatsoever for things like love, friendship, experience, free will and such.

Hahah!

It may be that things which affect the brain, work to occlude or otherwise block the interaction between body and soul. Like the light from a lamp might become dimmer. Read this.

http://www.bahai.org/article-1-3-2-25.html

The doctor said my brain was damaged though.

You can't explain consciousness by physical deterministic laws. Therefore my explanation is simpler. Of course affecting the physical brain has consequences. But I am talking about the size of it. Thats a little bit different. Our brains possess memory, see color, etc. So do animals, they do all those things. But you only need a walnut sized brain for that.

So my theory is, that humans have a soul and that is why they have free will and all that other crap. Therefore the brainflesh surrounding their soul-seat will grow bigger over time, much like our bounteous rear ends and titflesh, merely because there is nothing to stop it from growing. So thats what I am saying here. Perhaps much like fatty cells in my ass, fatty brain cells can be sucked out through a tube? Call it "psycho-suction".

Of course this deals with the soul... only because you people keep on claiming that the brain's function is to provide consciousness.

 

There is currently no entirely satisfying physical explanation for consciousness (correct me if I'm wrong), but that doesn't mean that there never will be one. Long ago the motion of the planets was also an unexplained phenomenon. The supernatural was invoked to explain that, as it has been every time that science has temporarily struggled to find answers. But the niche filled by the supernatural is gradually diminishing - thank God

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Bob,

Who to say animals don't feel love and emotions?

Chemicals in the brain explain emotion quite well in fact we can manipulate emotions with drugs, we can make people happy or said or grumpy, how could we do that if emotions are from the metaphysical soul?

But I have explain consciences by physicals laws, free-will all the crap can and has been explained as being within the realm of physical reality. Your belief otherwise is based on a faith of something that wholly undetectable, thus not science but theology.

 

Personally, I don't even believe in 'free will'. As long as the universe is ruled by infallible laws, and as long as we are of the universe, then we too are bound by its laws. At best, I can concede that quantum randomness might play a part (I mean beyond the level at which it plays a part in all phenomena - but even then we'd still be slaves to the universe).

 

Bob, please try to confine yourself to laying down one post at a time. The edit function is there for a reason.

 

My belief is based on my inner experience of all that 'crap', and the inability of science to explain it. Oh, you say that consciousness has been explained by physical laws? What physical laws, pray tell? As I said before, you don't really influence emotions with the chemical crap, you only substract from their original being and prevent or other wise distort their translation into reality.

Clockwood:

Ah, thanks for the pointer. Will do.

 

But you are assuming that those emotions have a reality other than that which is apparent to us on this 'plane'. To me this seems to be an unfounded assumption.

What would be a testable difference between drugs influencing emotions directly and drugs "distorting their translation into reality"? It's so many meaningless words.

 

Its founded on our observation that humans are qualititatively different from animals and raw matter; they posess spirit.

 

What is your definition of "spirit"?
And how is it exclusive to humans? Where's the cut-off point?
Do children have it? The mentally retarded?

 

sure children and retards have it.

We know that humans have spirit because only they are capable of self-consciousness.

Certain types of human are beset by diseases that render the expression of their souls incomplete. Children are not developed well enough for their soul to shine through completely.

 

I could argue that animals have at least some self-consciousness as well. Look at Koko. You can have an intellignent, 2-way conversation with her in sign language. In my estimation, she has more mind to her than many retarded humans and small children.

 

maybe Koko has a soul then.

In your estimation. Have you ever had a conversation with Koko?

You know those gorilla trainers get paid to make them look smart.

I heard from an inside source that the gorillas jack off all day. It true.