Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Fearless Woman Lacks Key Part of Brain
The role of the amygdala in social intelligence is well known. It is very important in estimating the emotional valency of facial expressions, for instance - are they happy, angry or sad? It is also the low-level receptor area in the brain for sights of disgust like blood, faeces etc. which are eventually processed into moral emotions. It should be very active when a person is presented with animals to which we humans seem to have evolved phobias - like snakes and spiders. In this fascinating case study a woman who was apparently fearless when presented with these stimuli was found to not have functioning amygdalae. It would be interesting, to me at least, to know whether or not she suffered from any moral deficits.
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