Taxonomy of Functions
The question then is: What makes humans different or even unique compared to other organisms?
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernst Pöppel, ML, MAE
The brain represents only 2% of body mass, but the brain uses 20% of energy for its different tasks. Because of this high energy demand, the brain had to develop during evolution strategies for an optimal use of energy. The reference to "evolution" is important: "Nothing in biology (or psychology) makes sense except in the light of evolution"; (a famous statement by Theodosius Dobzhansky). This reference also indicates my epistemological position which is a "pragmatic monism" (in contrast to Cartesian dualism). How to save energy in the brain? By ART (A - Anticipation what might happen in the future); R - Reduction of complexity in the neural systems; T - Temporal synchronization of distributed actvities in rhe brain). To better understand ART an overview is given about some basic structural and functional features of the brain as basis for mental life. In a taxonomy of functions a distinction is made between "content of consciousness" (like perceptions, memories, or emotions), and logistical functions (like activation of functions or their temporal organization). One major point is that any kind of mental activity can never be independent of, or isolated from, other activities: There is no perception without a link to memory functions or emotional evaluations; or, there is no action without a relation to perceptual control. As a consequence, decisions can never be purely “rational”; they necessarily have an emotional frame. It may come as a surprise that the basic features of behavioral control can be seen in all organisms, even in unicellar organisms. The question then is: What makes humans different or even unique compared to other organisms?
建議之參考書籍
1. Augustinus: Chapter 11 from the “confessions”, written in 397/8, which is one of the best introductions into “time perception”.
2. Poeppel (2018). Cognitive Processing: “East of West, West of East: a matter of global and local identity”
3. Bao et al. (2017). Hypothesis and Theory: “Complementarity As Generative Principle: A Thought Pattern for Aesthetic Appreciations and Cognitive Appraisals in General”
4. Poeppel, Bao (2011). Three Modes of Knowledge as Basis for Intercultural Cognition and Communication: A Theoretical Perspective
5. Turner (1988). Beauty and the Brain
6. Poeppel: Short Articles
