The Mind and the Brain

Abstract

This chapter looks broadly at how the overall thesis of the book relates to the human mind and brain, which develop to be what they are because they are located in a specific society. The main claim will be that one cannot begin to understand the brain properly without taking top-down causation into account. An example is that you are able to read this book, written in English, because your neuronal connections have been adapted to understanding that language as you interacted with members of the society in which you grew up (your parents, siblings, and school mates if it is your home language). This is top-down causation from the social milieu to detailed aspects of brain structure. There is no way this can be understood purely on the basis of the underlying physics.