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Samenvatting Mind, Brain & Body -18/20 in 1e zit!!
- Établissement
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Dit document omvat een samenvatting van de volledige cursus Mind, brain & body. Ik behaalde 18/20 voor dit vak in 1e zit!!
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Mind, Brain & BodyANTHROPOLOGY = science that studies humans by observing the physical, social and cultural
properties. Includes evolution and behaviour that different groups exhibit in their more ‘natural
state’.
o Philosophical anthropology = study of the human condition that concerns existential
questions about the meaning of life. It studies the ‘human condition’. This domain
complements the concrete observations and the resulting theories of anthropology.
DICHOTOMIES /dualities/binaries = traditionally subdivide issues in two opposing categories, each
pole however highlights an aspect of a complex indivisible whole.
MIND-BODY PROBLEM: how can the mind affect, or be affected by the material body which is made
of a completely different substance that obeys different laws? The view presented here is that mind
and body are merely different ways of looking at the same living systems
SYSTEMS THEORY = focus on the interrelations of components and how these turn the whole into
more than the sum of its parts, and how this coherent system interacts with its environment, and
how this leads to an on-going process of adaptation and self-organization.
- The more complex the environment, the more organized/intelligent it needs to become so
that it can reach its goals in the face of increasingly diverse challenges.
o Human intelligence = realized by complex and adaptive brain, however this is merely
a specialized organ of an equally complex and adaptive body that is thus only
possible because of a process of evolution that develops the systems capabilities.
- Properties of mind (desire, feeling, thought, consciousness, intelligence) are advanced
products of the universal process of increasing organization.
HUMANISM = the philosophy that all values ultimately derive from human judgement. There are no
a priori rules that can tell us how to behave.
o Post-humanism = humans are not the final judges of what is good or bad. They are
part of a larger system which includes society, technology and nature. This leads to
more ecological consciousness. (goes back to prehistoric animism).
o Transhumanism = focus on radical augmentation of human capabilities through
technology that lead us to evolve to a new species.
SELF-ACTUALIZATION = The driving force behind human existence is said to be the on-going
development of our capabilities that leads to a happy and fulfilled life.
SYSTEM = a whole consisting of interconnected components that are themselves systems known as
subsystems of the initial system. Each system is part of a supersystem.
- Input = of matter, energy and/or information that enters from the external environment and
affects its internal state.
- Output = of matter, energy and/or information that exits system and affects its environment.
- Coupled = systems are connected when output of the one is used as input by the other, they
are to some degree dependent.
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, PROCESS = a system (a process) transforms input into output that will in turn function as input for
one or more others. Any event or change will tend to propagate from system to system.
- The universe is intrinsically changing and thus dynamic.
VARIATION = change caused by external or internal processes that affect state and structure of
system.
NATURAL SELECTION = nature selectively retains stable systems and eliminates the unstable ones
that easily fall apart by replacing them by stable configurations.
- Darwinian evolution: variation and selection form the basic mechanism that generate ever
new forms. This process of change never stops because even the most stable systems will
sooner or later undergo variation.
FITNESS = criterion for survival system. A system is not only stable enough to survive variation, it also
tends to grow by reproduction.
o Adeptness = fitness of a system depends on how well it is adapted to its environment. If so it
efficiently exploits useful inputs available to grow and become stronger. It also evades or
neutralized negative inputs.
o Niche = to be fit a system must find a particular setting where it occupies a role within the
larger environment where it has access to positive inputs (resources) whilst evading negative
ones (dangers). In this niche it needs to develop the right kind of subsystems and processes
that can deal with both of these challenges.
o Complexity = more components, processes and interconnections.
o Intelligence = capability to use these functions to deal with increasingly difficult challenges (=
dangers and opportunities
DISSIPATIVE STRUCTURES = characterized by an organized flow of matter and energy that keeps on
going for as long as there is sufficient input or energy. The energy needed to keep such a flow
running gets dissipated during the process. Therefore it constantly needs to be replenished by new
input.
- It thrives on a flux of incoming energy which it then dissipates into surroundings.
- Intermediate stage between living and non-living systems:
1) Like living: active, self-organization, need resources to survive
2) Like non-living: no boundary, lack intelligence/mind/body.
o Metabolism = a cycle of chemical reactions in which some molecules are:
1) being broken down into smaller parts to extract energy/building materials
(consumed)
2) are assembled from these building blocks (produced) which is necessary to
replace worn out or damaged components/ grow new tissues.
- An organism constantly rebuilds itself.
AUTOPOIESIS (autopoietic system) = a living systems produces all its own components and can
thus also produce a copy of itself.
- Greek for ‘self-reproduction’. Note that this term is used to characterize life.
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, o Autophagy = cell structures that do not function well are digested in a self-eating
process in order to recover their amino acids by white blood cells of the immune
system or through apoptosis (=cell suicide).
o Boundary = protects the metabolic cycle from outside interference or inside loss: so
that molecules/cells cannot leak out and poison cannot get in. This provides a degree
of stability and autonomy as it defines a living system as a separate, physical object
with a distinguishable beginning and end (=body).
DNA = genes are made from a long DNA molecule (double-helix shape). Unwind the double helix and
get two complementary strings:
o Genetic code = DNA stores information through this code, universal for life on earth. Each
string forms a text that can be read, decoded and carried out by the machinery of the cell. It
contains instructions for producing the molecules (proteins) that are needed to perform the
right chemical reactions.
- a string contains a sequence of bases which are represented by (A,C,G,T): each triplet (X,X,X)
constitutes a word/particular amino acid. A sequence of words form a sentence that
represent a chain of amino acids that are chained together by ribosome to form a protein
molecule.
o Proteins have 2 functions:
1) Being used as building blocks for cells
2) As a tool to work with other molecules = enzyme = catalyses certain chemical reactions.
It has a complex three-dimensional shape where specific other molecules can fit in
needed by the cell. Enzymes can also break molecules apart, separating their
components (for example during digestion).
o Epigenetic = information that specifies the activation pattern <-> Genetic = information
inherent from the DNA
o Memory = DNA functions as a passive register that stores information for long term so as to
pass it onto off-spring. ( for example how to tun the metabolism of a living organism). On the
other hand, DNA actively regulated the activity of the metabolic network by making sure the
right enzymes can be produced at the right time.
AGENT = an autonomous systems that acts.
ACTIONS = an agent performs specific actions that change it situation, thee actions are intended to
achieve the agent’s goals.
- Fundamental goal (preferred state) of evolved systems = fitness, because organisms whose
genetic instructions did not lead to fitness have been eliminated.
NEEDS = conditions that must be fulfilled for survival, development and reproducing.
- (for example, the basic need to ingest sufficient food to maintain metabolic cycle, to in-built
goal is to avoid hunger).
CHALLENGE = a situation asks the agent to take action so as to exploit an opportunity (positive)
and/or solve a problem (negative). These potentially affect the agent’s goal(s). Challenges stimulate
to act, however not everything requires to undertaking.
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