Hi All,
In The Principles of Psychology William James devotes a whole chapter on
'habit'. He writes about the plasticity of the brain, and concerning
habit (borrowing from a certain Dr. Carpenter), he writes: "Our nervous
system grows to the modes in which it has been exercised". That is, once
a certain behavior is displayed by the organism, the organism stores it
in the nervous system, so that the same behavior gets easier and easier
to perform, thereby decreasing the attentional load, for one thing.
James further quotes a Dr. Maudsley, which I think is relevant to the
progress-thread some time ago:
"If an act became no easier after being done several times, if the
careful direction of consciousness were necessary to its accomplishment
on each occasion, it is evident that the whole activity of a lifetime
might be confined to one or two deeds-that no progress (!) could take
place in development. A man might be occupied all day in dressing and
undressing himself; the attitude of his body would absorb all his
attention and energy; the washing of his hands or the fastening of a
button would be as difficult to each occasion as to the child on its
first trial; Think of the pains necessary to teach a child to stand, of
the many efforts which it must make, and of the ease with which it at
last stands, accomplished with comparatively little weariness- in this
regard approaching the organic movements, or the original reflex
movements- the consciouss efforts of the will soon produce exhaustion. A
spinal cord without [...] memory would simply be an idiotic spinal cord
[...] It is impossible for an individual to realise how much he owes to
its automatic agency until disease has impaired its functions."
Thus, evolution in higher mammals and man has created plasticity of the
nervous system, to enable him to develop in a lifetime a huge amount of
complex behaviors. That much is clear: Evolution seems to be toward
greater complexity. Probably some of you here have argued the same thing
(or against it!), but the question naturally arises: Is evolution to
increasing complexity 'good'; does it signify progress? I find it a very
difficult question to answer, but also a rather fundamental question,
because Nature DOES seem to make things more complex in its evolution.
What's the purpose ;-) of that?
Suggestions, anyone?
Regards, Patrick.
Ps. A spiritual (I also dislike the word as some of you do, but by lack
of a better word) contemplation: Each of us as human individuals carry
the marks of the 'path' taken by the universe since the Big Bang. For
instance, without the hundreds-of-million-years-life of some stars
around 8 billion years ago, the Earth with it's complex elements
couldn't have been formed. I find the realisation that our identity now
relates intimately with the long history of the universe quite ...
special, deep, whatever word you prefer.
Pps. Maybe the ps. is an answer to the question posed here. :-)
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