Evolution and humans: big brain size or use (Evolution)

by David Turell , Saturday, May 13, 2017, 15:19 (2749 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Is a newborn fully conscious. Not in an adult sense. Full consciousness develops due to the plasticity of the brain to enlarge and develop the complexity it needs for a full reception of consciousness. I view H. habilis to have a crystal radio set, H. erectus to have an AM radio, Neanderthal to have an FM set, and we've got television, as an example of the receiver concept.

dhw: How can consciousness develop because the brain becomes big enough to receive it? That is like saying that if you buy a bigger bucket, it will cause more rain to fall so that the rain can fill the bucket. I just cannot see the logic in your argument that while the receiver does not produce consciousness, and consciousness can exist independently of the receiver, the receiver has to develop before consciousness can develop. At least the materialist view is consistent: consciousness is the product of the brain and ceases when the brain dies. I repeat, I am not taking sides (and indeed some time ago, I offered a possible reconciliation between the two schools of thought), but you appear to be taking both sides at once.

You miss the point entirely. The radio receiver concept assumes consciousness is an independent entity pervading the universe. The brain does not develop consciousness. It RECEIVES consciousness and as through plasticity the brain develops, it learns how to use it. Personality development is part of the process; intellectual capacity, I.Q., depth of thought all part of development of its use as a tool.