By: normbear

normbear — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:34:02 +0000

The brain makes the decision, but it is much more than “me.” My sense of who I am consists of my conscious experience, and when a decision emerges from non-conscious neural processes, it becomes incorporated into “me,” even though I have no conscious awareness of the decision-making process. The same brain that makes the decision constructs a narrative of who I am based on the decisions that emerge into consciousness, but no part of the brain really knows how the decision was made. The narrative is constructed by the brain to explain the organism’s behavior, since as social creatures, we need to explain our behavior in a way that makes us predictable to our fellow human beings. These explanations are based on the brain’s understanding of what the social system expects or requires so they are culturally based. An explanation that would make sense in mid-town America would probably be incomprehensible in the backwaters of the Amazon, because those cultures explain behavior differently, and neither of them uses a neuroscience-based understanding of how decisions are made. Here’s one of my posts that talks more about the neuroscience of our selves, and there are many more: http://www.rentine.com/theshortversion/2009/03/27/the-mission-happiness-for-everyone/

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:58:17 +0000

If you’re not the one in charge, what happens when it’s time to make a decision? Who makes the decision?

Comments on: How I Got Here: Evolution of a Naturalist

By: normbear

By: Doug