Evolution and humans: dumb big elephant brain (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, July 03, 2017, 15:48 (2698 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID’s comment: Written like a true atheist. The bigger brain allowed us to learn how to use fire to nourish the bigger brain. The bigger brain appeared before we could use fire. She doesn't answer the issue of how the brain began to grow, on its own, or with God's direction? The cerebellum is important for coordination of physical activity, not the higher mental powers of the pre-frontal area.

dhw: Written like a true theist. According to the author, it was cooked food that enabled our brain to grow (well, that’s one theory), which means the new idea of how to use fire preceded the bigger brain. But there is actually no way anyone can prove which came first. However, yet again you are using the wishy-washy word “allowed”. If you think our ancestor’s big brain thought of using fire, you should say so. If you think it was our ancestor’s soul that thought of using fire, you should say so. See “dualism versus materialism”.

Allowed means 'given the facility' to have the thought. The thought of use of fire was not demanded by the larger brain, but provided the substrate for the ancestor to eventually realize that the thought of using fire could appear. The material ancestor did his own thinking while he shaped the contents of his soul.