Contemporary research on comparative cognition supports the claim that the difference between human and non-human minds is one of degree and not of kind. It must be emphasized that specific physical and social environments create selection pressures that lead to the evolution of certain cognitive adaptations and evolve independently from each other as a concrete result of specific selection pressures, and thus have appeared in distantly related species. Thus, there is not one cognition. The biocentric perspective focuses on each species in its own evolutionary history. In accordance with this biocentric approach there are several aspects of cognition, from sensor-actuator mechanisms to…
The development of Humanity is defined by gradual, linear progression. This linearity is not just a geometric metaphor but a reflection of our cognitive, emotional and societal evolution. Human cognition, deeply rooted in the structures of our neocortex and limbic system -the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses- has maintained a consistent pace over millennia. Our emotional responses, learning processes, and memory formations follow a path that is more evolutionary than revolutionary. While individual learning can display moments of rapid growth and adaptation, the overall cognitive development of our species unfolds across generations. Similarly,…
There are no longer any places left on Earth untouched by humans. The chemical and biological signatures of our species are everywhere. Transported around the globe by fierce atmospheric winds, relentless ocean currents, and the capacious cargo-holds of millions of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, nowhere on Earth is free from humanity’s imprint. Pristine nature has permanently blinked out of existence. The significance of this goes beyond statistics documenting melting glaciers and shrinking species counts. It signals a new geological epoch. What is most startling is not only how much impact humans have had but, more important, how much deliberate shaping they will…
As Albert Einstein justly noted, the experimental physical world, with its infinite diversity, directly contradicts the idealized simplicity of the mathematical description. How can one explain this, accept it, and include it in the scheme of a mechanistic vision of the world? Worldviews have different origins, stemming from various social, cultural, religious, political, and economical systems that have developed over millennia. These different origins can inform and create similar worldview realities shared by different groups of people and societies. The present and outdated worldview is based on our all-pervasive and sub-conscious habit to interpret and represent the World surrounding us…
