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

by dhw, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, 12:32 (2710 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: Yes, the brain has plasticity to mold itself to your needs, but if you/your consciousness are a separate entity which survives the death of the brain, you do not need the brain in order to develop your thoughts (mold the content of your consciousness). You only need it in order to communicate or realize your concepts in the material world of this life.
DAVID: Yes!

This was the final part of my last post and you agreed. And yet in the rest of your post, you tried to disagree:

dhw: You have agreed that you and your consciousness are an inseparable entity. Yes, you/your consciousness operate the brain. No, “you” do not “receive” your consciousness – according to you, it is the brain that receives the messages from you/your consciousness.
DAVID: No, I operate my consciousness through my brain.

You agree that you/your consciousness are the entity that operates the receiver brain in order to communicate or realize your concepts. What are you saying “no” to?

dhw: In YOUR dualistic world it is the material realization/communication of our thoughts that requires the enlarged brain, not the enlarged brain that enables us to have our thoughts.
DAVID: In my view only a very complex brain can use the mechanism of consciousness to the extent we now use it. The pattern of frontal lobe development allowed all of the complex conceptual thinking we do now. We start with a consciousness after birth with an empty slate and form its content and its use. It has to be learned.

According to your dualistic beliefs, the brain does NOT use us/our consciousness, we/our consciousness use the brain. The frontal lobe development did not “allow” our complex thinking, but it allowed us to translate our complex thinking into realizations and communications, as you have agreed. Yes, according to your dualistic beliefs, it is we/our consciousness that undergo development throughout our lives (and possibly beyond), and the brain responds to all these developments by allowing us to translate them into communication and realization in the material world of this life. “Yes!” you said. So why do you keep disagreeing?