The brain (Identity)

by dhw, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 12:35 (4273 days ago) @ David Turell

Dhw: Last week, our younger son came over from the States with our grandson (4 years, 9 months). Our house borders on playing fields, which little Keanu calls "the park". One day we went for a walk to a shop about 20 minutes away, in the opposite direction to the park, but we came back a different way, where he'd never been before. As we walked along a narrow lane, I asked him where he thought it would take us. His first answer was: "Home!" which put me in my place. Then I told him it would take us to somewhere before home, and he immediately said: "The park!" I asked him how he knew, and his response was: "My brain told me. My brain tells me everything."
I am still pondering the implications.-DAVID: Smart Grandpa, brilliant kid!-Brilliant kid, but Grandpa's far from smart. I'm baffled. Words go through Keanu's ears into his brain, where the sounds are processed, and then the brain gives him the answer to my question, which he puts into words. So who does the brain tell? Is his brain not "him"? Are some cells in the brain telling other cells what to say and how to say it? Then what constitutes "him"? Is "he" in charge of his brain, or is his brain in charge of "him"? You will notice that I have put this thread under "Identity". I defy anyone to define the border between my grandson and his brain. But perhaps he knows something we don't know!