This document discusses physicalism and dualism views of the human mind and brain. It provides an overview of the triune brain model of brain evolution, with the lizard brain forming the core and newer mammalian and primate brains developing additional layers. The document notes that humans have a large cortex making up 80% of our brain mass, which enables advanced functions like imagination, tool use, social learning, and complex language that are unique to humans. It questions how we learn what different brain areas do.

1. Physicalism Dualism
Nothing but
matter.
Part matter,
Part spirit.
VS

2. Most people
are dualists.
Most people
think that
there’s more to
us than our
physical bodies
and brains.
Physicalism is
an unnatural
concept.

3. Why does it even matter?
I have zero desire to shake
anyone’s religious views.
Far from it.
Nor does it bother me in
the least whether you
privately believe in
possession or ghosts.
So why do I feel the need
to make everyone
uncomfortable with this
physicalism stuff?
… Because physicalists
have worked out how the
human brain evolved from
simpler mammals’ brains.

4. Triune (3-part) brain

7. Higher Primate Brain
Lizard Brain
Mammal Brain
When lizards evolve
into mammals: a
new, more advanced
brain part (red Lego)
clips onto the old,
less advanced brain
part (yellow Lego).

8. Speaking of Legos, we’ve made an AI version of the
flatworm and hooked it up to a Lego robot flatworm
that thinks and acts like a live flatworm.

15. Primates have a lot of
cortex, and humans
have a real lot.
~80% of your brain’s
mass is cortex.
Imagination allows
tool use (I can envision
a solution to this
problem), social
learning (I can figure
out the intent of that
lady whose behavior I
want to copy).

16. Social learning by guessing intent
Advanced brain functions unique to humans:
• Problem with AI
• Problem with not speaking while
demonstrating

17. Complex language
Advanced brain functions unique to humans:
• << Bee’s Waggle Dance >>
• Rhesus monkey calls
• << The ape sign language hoax >>
• << Koko story begins here >>

18. ( How do we learn what the different brain areas do? )

19. Joshua Eckert, 2018
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