Introducing the brain: half a brain is just fine (Introduction)

by dhw, Thursday, March 19, 2020, 11:49 (1708 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: At all stages of hominin, homo development, the new species used the inventions of the past in going forward with developments from what was presently known.
Yes indeed. And so you have each new brain containing the past concepts which caused its expansion, but then in turn having to expand in order to develop (i.e. design and implement) its own new concepts.

dhw: The FIRST artefacts would have been the product(s) resulting from whatever concept(s) CAUSED the pre-sapiens brain to expand to sapiens size. There is no way anyone can possibly prove or disprove this, because an artefact can only exist once the brain has finished expanding through the effort to design and make it.

DAVID: Or, my opposite view, only the newly enlarged brain could develop the new concept/concepts and produce the artifact products.

I notice you again use the word “develop”. Good. You develop something which exists, and that means the concept existed before the enlargement. However, you, as a dualist, actually believe your God enlarged the brain before the soul was able to conceive the concept. But since the dualist’s soul only uses the brain to gather information and to make the concept real, this leaves you with the problem of explaining what new information the soul would gather before conceiving the concept. For example, existing information: me hungry – need to kill bison – close up might mean bison kill me...hum...New concept: Maybe me throw something sharp. What new information has required the expansion of the brain, since in your theory it is the soul that does the thinking?

DAVID: The bold is still your reversal theory of the series of events archaeologists appear to believe.

dhw: I’ve no idea what they believe. How many of them have specified that God expanded the pre-sapiens brain, and only then was it possible for the soul to conceive of a spear?

DAVID: My thoughts about their beliefs comes from how they produce and present their studies. God is never an issue.

Then what is their explanation for the brain’s expansion? If that is not an issue either, what theory do they appear to believe which reverses mine?