Intentionality and free-will: The crucial effects of neuronal networks on human evolution

Abstract

Human evolution can be divided into two distinct phases: (1) in the first, human evolution depends on the DNA-gene information based on direct and predictable processes, and (2) in the second, human evolution depends on the neuronal networks which generate complex and nonpredictable effects. In the first phase, the information necessary for the generation of the neuronal cells depends on the DNA-gene information, while the second phase is connected with the formation of complex neuronal networks which is largely independent from DNA-gene information. © Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei 2012.