Towards a Neuroscience of the Capable Person: Unity, Diversity and Oneself as Another
15 September 2006
Type/Items(s): Special Focus, Scientific Sessions
Submitted by: Raad Abdulaziz (ICVolunteers)
Contributors: Moira Cockell (WKD), Randy Schmieder (MCART)
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Neuroscience's contribution to our understanding of evolution and the human brain can also provide insight into our understanding of consciousness, culture and human nature. The reknowned French neuroscientist, Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux illustrated to delegates at the World Knowledge dialogue that it is possible to form a coherent and complementary dialogue between the humanities and cognitive neuroscience, by exploring the relationship that exists between Brain, Mind and Culture.
In making his keynote presentation, "Toward a Neuroscience of the Capable Person: Unity, Diversity, Oneself-as-Another" Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux, Collège de France & Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, told delegates his aim was to establish a bridge between neuroscience and the humanities on the basis of Paul Ricoeur's concept of the "capable person" defined as a rational and conscious individual engaged in social relationships and with personal identity.
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Somewhere in the layer of the brain's complexity may lie the key to better dialogue between science and humanity. Image: V. Krebs, ICVolunteers |
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In his detailed presentation on neuroscience and what he called the "human genetic envelope", he graphically illustrated how the human brain has developed differently from that of mice and chimpanzees, and how the establishment of a science of consciousness is possible if "we understand who we are and what we can do".
A parallel was drawn between the process of dialogue between science and humanity and that between different cultures from the view point of neuroscience. Prof. Changeux used photos of famous paintings in the Musée du Louvre to demonstrate the expression of Ricoeur's concept through neuroscientific evidence. Providing a great example of dialogue between science and art he marshalled the language of colours and shapes in those paintings as a powerful tool to explain scientific concepts, results and findings.
Prof. Changeux highlighted several different facets of the dynamic potential of the human brain. The first concerns the evolution from primitive mammals to Homo sapiens, and the relatively rapid increase of anatomical complexity that has occured in comparison to small changes in genome organisation. it was highlighted through the comparison between chimpanzee and humans where the difference in the number of genes is about 1.2%. A second level of developmental comparison was that of foetus to mature human. The point was made that in foetal brains, only 15% of the adult brain connections have been built. The third level of comparison was that of non-conscious to conscious information processing of brain. The model presented included reference to the self, to personal memories, to internalized rules and to social conventions. The fourth and perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the brain's dynamic capacity, is the relation between oneself and "the other". While we know that external factors such as culture, heritage, religion and civilization strongly influence this final level of developmental plasticity, the application of reductionist approaches does not allows us to predict the specific outcomes of such complex interactions. Somewhere in this layer of the brain's complexity may lie the key to better dialogue between science and humanity, but within its mystery also lies the secret of what makes each of us an individual and what makes us "human".
Changeux conveyed to the delegates that the kind of dialogue needed to advance the cause of humanity was not to be found among machines (as the knowledge society seems to suspect) but between individual brains which have, through evolution, developed into an "epigenetic diversity of human cultural pathways". It was his view that communication and relationships were essential for the dissemination of knowledge.
The message from Professor Changeux seems to suggest that while humanities help society comprehend complex social phenomena, the sciences contribute to human development through the explanation of complex physical matter. It seems plausible that Professor Changeux is eminently qualified to urge this symposium to move from mere rhetoric towards action in bridging the gap of the knowledge disciplines. He himself has already taken the first steps along that road as the dialogue he conducted with the late French philosopher, Paul Ricoeur in their book "What Makes Us Think" aptly demonstrates. |
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