Evolutionary neurology and the human soul

pp. 45-72

in: Grant Gillett, From Aristotle to cognitive neuroscience, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

A nervous system configured by intersubjectivity and a grasp of the distinction between truth and falsity shape our neural function so that we sense, perceive, cognise, and act in ways that elaborate sensori-motor activity to fit us for cognitive function under norms of truth and falsity conveyed by and linked to speech or "propositionising." The resulting self-formation fits us for a world in which meaningful symbolism and normatively constrained communication imposes truth and falsity and depth as the basis of a well-organised intellect. Thus our sensori-motor and language-related neural functions are fitted for the joint demands of the natural world and the socio-political (or discursive) world through triply responsive neurocognitive assemblies shaped in human cognitive development and underpinning human consciousness, thought, and action.