Brain expansion (Evolution)

by David Turell , Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 19:31 (1591 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: An exact distortion of what I have previously written about my dualism theory: to repeat, in life the soul MUST use the brain mechanisms to develop thought and concepts. In death it is free and on its own to think.

dhw: How is it a distortion? We agree that in life the dualist’s soul MUST use the material brain: its thoughts and concepts depend on the brain for information and for implementation. But the dualist’s soul itself cannot be material if it survives the death of the body/brain! Perhaps it is the term “thought mechanisms” that has caused confusion. Please explain it, please tell us whether the dualist’s soul is or is not material, and please explain why you think the dualist’s soul cannot use existing knowledge to come up with new ideas until the material brain has already provided new knowledge and an enhanced ability to implement the ideas.

In life the soul and brain are totally linked. The immaterial soul must use the neuron networks to retrieve memory, to receive sensory information, and to develop abstract thought, which thought can only be as abstractly complex as the neuron networks allow. This fits the slowly advancing of human forms/brain enlargement over time associated with more advanced artifacts.

DAVID: I've previously stated several times that past smaller less complex brains probably had some form of complexification ability. We cannot know about shrinkage from the fossils.

dhw: Not answering my question. If the modern brain controls its complexification and its limited expansion autonomously, why couldn’t the same mechanism have done the same in former times?

Because I think God creates the appearance of evolution to make you fell better about my description of God running evolution

DAVID: We are currently discussing the evidence from sapiens brains and since it doesn't fit your natural theory of expansion you have scurried back to pre-sapiens brains to avoid the problem. Please stick to the subject, sapiens brains and long initial stasis of ideas/artifacts.

dhw: You are right – my reply concerned the history generally, and not sapiens’ history. My apologies. But I have already given you the answer umpteen times. We do not know what new requirement resulted in the final expansion. But I propose that the sapiens brain stopped expanding because if it had expanded any further, this would have necessitated major changes to the whole anatomy.

Skull size no problem. Our brain was sizeably bigger (about 150 cc) before the shrinkage, with no anatomic problems. Could be easily added back, if necessary, but isn't. Your anatomic problem is not reasonable.

dhw: Instead, complexification took over, apart from minor expansions in particular sections (thus demonstrating the existence of the cells’ autonomous ability to add to their numbers). Shrinkage – loss of cells – was caused by the increased efficiency of complexification, and took place after a long period of stasis during which – as in all other known stages of pre-sapiens expansion – there were no new “big ideas” which required further changes to the brain.

You have agreed to a stasis period. That destroys your idea that compelling ideas in a previously smaller brain demanded enlargement for implementation. Where is the implied immediate implementation? No where. Delayed for over 200,000 years

DAVID: As for cell intelligence, my view is not changed. They appear to react intelligently because of God's intelligent instructional information they contain.

dhw: “Intelligent instructional information” being an impressive-sounding term for programmes - a view which has led you ultimately to the absurd suitcase analogy discussed elsewhere.

DAVID: Answered in that entry. You use programs like a dirty word. You never like the concept of God's implanted instructions/information. IDer's deal with it at great length.

dhw: Not answered but even more confused in that entry. I don’t use program as a dirty word, but I simply find it impossible to believe that your God would pack the first cells with programs for every single life form etc. See the other entry.

We are stuck with Behe's evidence that DNA (Darwin) devolves.