I've never learned much about the mind, but after reviewing this week's materials I could see that it has its own place in culture. As society has become more individualistic, people have begun to put more confidence in their own selves. Some people want to be what Jung calls a "modern man," who is very in touch with their own consciousness. Because everything in the world seems to lack certainty, they look within to their own psyche for something constant. I see this in today's culture where people are told to discover their own identity within themselves. Also, the idea has come about that there is no objective truth, which Bateson asserts. People think there is no objective truth because things are relative and people have different opinions. |
| Roger Penrose https://maas.museum/observations/ 2007/07/16/what-was-there-before- the-big-bang-a-new-theory-from- roger-penrose/ |
Roger Penrose believed that a person's consciousness had "noncomputable ingredients," suggesting that he did not think consciousness could have come about by evolution. However, many scientists disagreed with him. I think it is interesting that the consciousness is something so incredibly complex; however, scientists think it could have come about from something as comparatively simple as evolution.
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| First edition of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World |
As with other types of science and technology, art provides a way for the public to learn about current advances in neuroscience. Sometimes, artists discover things before scientists do. For example, in "Swann's Way," Marcel Proust says some things about memory that were not scientifically discovered until relatively recently. Popular culture has also been affected by the earlier use of certain drugs. Aldous Huxley used drugs like LSD while writing his well-known book, "Brave New World." Muse is one of my favorite artists, but I did not know what the name of their song "MK Ultra" meant until learning about the CIA project this week.
Sources:
Bateson, Gregory. Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity. New York: Dutton, 1979. Web. 13 May 2016.
Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10 (2009): 815-21. Web.
Jung, C. G. The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1933. Web.
Max, D. T. "Swann’s Hypothesis." Sunday Book Review. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2007. Web. 14 May 2016.
"Roger Penrose." The Third Culture - Chapter 14. Web. 14 May 2016.
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ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how something as abstract as the consciousness is within our brain. It would be difficult to assert that this conscious way of thinking came from evolution or something so small as a primordial soup. Even today it is difficult for neuroscientists to exactly pinpoint where our conscious is or if it is something else such as our soul.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to see how artists are discovering new things about the brain before scientists look at it. Maybe this is because they are taking a step back from science and looking at the brain from a different perspective than the scientists of today.