It is with great trepidation that I journey into the realm of cognitive neuroscience to explain something about stories. But, without some basic understanding of the brain, it is difficult to fully understand why stories are so important. Cognitive neuroscience is not my field of expertise. So, I will begin with some caveats lest I mislead anyone.
First, cognitive science is a rapidly evolving field so what is generally a consensus at one time may not be at another. Second, like in any field of science, there is disagreement among the scientists. So, while what I am going to say is generally true, there will be experts who disagree with it. Third, I am over simplifying in order to make what I say comprehensible. Scientific papers which attempt to be fair and correct are far beyond the scope of what the average reader can understand. And finally, I am going to anchor what I say in a quote from Wikipedia on the Triune Brain which you can look up for yourself. Don't feel obligated to read it, if you do not want to. I will pull out the important parts after the quote and in future posts.
"The triune brain is a model of the evolution of the vertebrate forebrain and behavior, proposed by the American physician and neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean. MacLean originally formulated his model in the 1960s and propounded it at length in his 1990 book The Triune Brain in Evolution. The triune brain consists of the reptilian complex, the paleomammalian complex (limbic system), and the neomammalian complex (neocortex), viewed each as independently conscious, and as structures sequentially added to the forebrain in the course of evolution. However, this hypothesis has been subject to criticism, and is no longer espoused by the majority of comparative neuroscientists in the post-2000 era." Wikipedia
Triune brain theory asserts that the over the course of evolution we have developed three brains. We have two eyes, cows have four stomachs, so it is not beyond comprehension that we have multiple brains. Further, each brain evolved to provide functionality not provided by the previous brain. The first brain is referred to, in layman's terms, as the reptilian brain (see reptilian complex above). The second brain is often referred to as the mammalian brain (see paleo-mammalian above) and is also referred to as the limbic system. The third brain is most commonly known as the neocortex (see neomammalian above). Although the three brains work together somewhat, each has its own consciousness.
To be fair and honor my caveats, I thought I would offer this link Refutation of Triune Brain Theory which explains how advances in brain theory have called a lot of MacLean's ideas into question.
However, for our purposes, I will limit discussion to the limbic system vs. the neocortex. Jordan Peterson, in his book entitled Maps of Meaning, asserts that these two brains provide two different interpretations of the world. (Note: this agrees with MacLean's assertion that each brain has its own consciousness.)According to Peterson, the world of the neocortex is the world of things, and is understood through science. The world of the limbic system is the world of values, and is understood through narratives. In the world of the neocortex we ask what a thing is. In the world of the limbic system we ask what does it mean and what should we do. We often speak of conscious thought as being the realm of the neocortex while nonconscious thought is the realm of the limbic system.
The vast majority of your thought occurs in the limbic portion of your brain. When the instructor in your exercise class tells you to remember to breathe, they are simply making you aware of a process that happens automatically 99+% of the time. If you have ever been driving when your mind was somewhere else and suddenly became conscious that you are driving and don't know where you are, you have shifted control from the non-conscious limbic system to the conscious neocortex. If you ever went to bed planning to dream about being on an island paradise with your favorite celebrity sweetheart, but instead dreamed about getting locked out of your house, naked, five minutes before an important meeting of your Home Owners Association, then your limbic system got the upper hand.
I could go on forever exploring this dichotomy and there are plenty of books that do that. However, I just want to cut to the chase and say that the vast majority of your life is ruled by your limbic system and your limbic system is ruled by narratives, or, in layman's terms, stories. Science may help you understand what a thing is and how it interacts with other things, but stories help you understand what it means and what to do. Sadly, many people believe that science has eliminated the need for stories, when, in reality, is has greatly increased the need.
No comments:
Post a Comment