Читать книгу Mechanisms of cultural evolution - Victor Efremenko - Страница 5

The brain is an environment built by genetics from specialized cells called neurons. The brain can perform a number of functions: it collects information about the external environment from the sense organs, from nerve cells about the internal environment, processes information, remembers and, depending on the results, controls behavior.

The brain is able to store processed information for some time. The brain of a newborn already possesses some «Reason» in the sense that information processing programs are already operating in it. But these are programs innate «wired» into it. This is the original firmware of the brain, which is not available to us and therefore, it is incorrect to call it the mind.

Part of the brain is dedicated to the mind. The functions of this part are called consciousness, because we are aware of the nature of the information in consciousness.

The functions performed by the brain are realized by changing the functional states of its individual fragments (local neural networks), just as in a computer only the contents (states) of certain cells change during operation.

The mind does not directly depend on the size of the brain. So an elephant with a huge brain has a mind much smaller than a human. His brain is not adapted to learning as much as the human brain. We can say that the architecture of the elephant’s brain does not allow organizing an effective mind.

We are aware and control only the information that is in consciousness. In the brain, apart from consciousness, there is a space called by S. Freud subconsciousness and unconsciousness. The differences are that the programs of the unconscious are formed earlier, while the subconscious is formed in the processes of upbringing and education.

The subconscious and the unconscious contain and operate with information that is inaccessible to consciousness, but plays an equally important role, performing the functions of automatic (without the participation of the mind) control of individual body functions.

In addition, the unconscious and the subconscious put pressure on consciousness, motivate it. Consciousness controls behavior taking into account the already formed unconscious and subconscious.