34566Y129 The Equation of Life: Scientists don't ~
KNOW HOW A COLLECTION OF ELECTRIC BRAIN SIGNALS CREATES SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCES. EVEN MORE CRUCIALLY, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT COULD BE THE EVOLUTIONARY BENEFIT OF SUCH PHENOMENON. THIS IS THE GREATEST LACUNA IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE. HUMANS HAVE FEET, BECAUSE FOR MILLIONS OF GENERATIONS FEET ENABLED OUR ANCESTORS TO CHASE RABBITS AND ESCAPE LIONS. HUMANS HEBE EYES, BECAUSE FOR COUNTLESS MILLENNIA EYES ENABLED OUR FOREBEARS TO SEE WHITHER THE RABBIT WAS HEADING AND WHENCE THE LION WAS COMING! BUT WHY DO HUMANS HAVE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCES OF HUNGER AND FEAR? Not so long ago, biologists still gave a very simple answer! Subjective experiences are essential for our survival, because if we didn't feel hunger or fear we would not have bothered to chase rabbits & flee lions! Upon seeing a lion, why did a man flee? Well, he was frightened, so he ran away! Subjective experiences explained human actions. Yet today scientists provide a much more detailed explanation. When a man sees a lion, electric signals stimulate certain neurons, which react by firing off more signals. These stimulate other neurons down the line, which fire in their turn!? If enough of the right neurons fire at a sufficiently rapid rate, commands are sent to the adrenal glands to flood the body with adrenaline, the heart is instructed to beat faster, while neurons in the motor centre send signals down to the leg muscles, which begin to stretch ànd contract, and the man runs away from the lion?! Ironically, the better we map this process, the HARDER it becomes to explain conscious feelings!? The better we understand the brain, the more redundant the mind seems?! If the entire system works by electric signals passing from here to there, why the hell do we also need to FEEL fear? If a chain of electrochemical reactions leads all the way from the nerve cells in the eye to the movements of leg muscles, why add subjective experiences? Why do neurons need feelings in order to stimulate one another, or in order to tell the adrenal gland to start pumping? Indeed, 99% of bodily activities, including muscle movement & hormonal secretions, take place without any need of conscious feelings? So why do the neurons, muscles & glands NÉÉD sùch féélings in the remaining 1% of cases?
Asih, man, 79 jaar
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