Brain complexity: how plasticity works (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, June 24, 2018, 19:01 (2344 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: That is not the “real debate” between you and me, which concerns the various pre-sapiens expansions. Whether their brains also shrank is irrelevant (though you have repeatedly introduced it as an objection to my proposed explanation), since the question is why they expanded. You will no doubt recall your theory that your God expanded their brains so that they could come up with new thoughts, which means the brain is the source of thought (= materialism). I suggested that since dualists believe in a “separate consciousness mechanism” called the soul, brain expansion must be due to the implementation of the soul's thoughts, in line with the known fact that it is the implementation of thoughts that causes changes to the brain. Fortunately for both of us, I have come up with a theory that reconciles both approaches, and can also fit in with theism and atheism! (See my post on THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE Part Two.)

DAVID: A deliberate repeated false statement about my theory, which has two parts. A soul which is the software using expanded brain size and complexity hardware to produce thought which is more complex than in previous species of homo. TWO parts, hardware and software are required for the thought to be originated.

dhw: Please see the post under THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE Part Two

I've reviewed it over and over. It includes pure materialism. Mine doesn't. In my view the soul is a software, immaterial mechanism that interfaces with the brain's hardware networks and uses those networks to produce original thought. True dualism.