Essay
The warring brain
As we read of horrible acts of war overseas, it’s easy to think that the human race is getting more barbaric, but history shows us mankind has always done atrocious things. We travel into outer space and defeat diseases, but we also wage war, build bombs and murder our fellow human beings. What explains this? It’s our brains.
Over the last 7 million years, our brains have tripled in size. But our original brain is still there, doing simple work like controlling bodily functions. This early brain is actually two almond-shaped clusters deep inside the brain called the amygdala. Many people call it the “lizard brain” — probably because it is nearly as old as the dinosaurs. The amygdala acts like a watchdog: It detects danger and activates a “fight or flight” reaction. It also stores traumatic experiences as memories to help us deal with future conflicts. This primitive brain leaps to action, not thought. It triggers stress, anger, fear and sexual appetite, and can lead us to fight. Depending on the situation, the amygdala can make us act pathologically and without reason.
But we also have a newer brain, called the limbic system, or sometimes the “monkey brain.” This allows us to think, understand and reflect. It can control, alter or subdue the impulses of the lizard brain. It can override the amygdala’s hair-trigger responses because the two parts of the brain work closely together. This closeness helps explain why we can’t reduce a person’s aggression by just getting rid of the amygdala.
As we evolved, we grew a third brain, the neocortex, which surrounds the monkey brain. This “human brain” uses logic, can think without emotion and helps us be patient before getting a reward. It gives us language, reasoning and planning.
But the amygdala is still the problem child. An overactive amygdala is likely linked to aggression. Doctors can help an individual become less aggressive with drugs and surgery, but they can’t do that for the whole human race.
Why do decent citizens sometimes commit unspeakable crimes? Why do some politicians and celebrities act out primitive urges and carry out horrible acts?
The answer may be simple. Except for the criminally insane, we can all learn to make a choice to not give in to the impulses of our lizard brain and, instead, use our higher brains to control them. Managing our lizard brain is key to civilized living and survival. Societies need to implement laws that promote and enforce nonaggression. Too often, folks and nations get away with murder.
It is unwise to wait for science to resolve this problem. While scientists have made great progress in understanding the human brain, they also admit that even the brain of a worm still holds mysteries.(Beverly A. Jackson)
20220916-06x.mp3 - Google ドライブ
How Exactly Is the Human Brain Organized? - YouTube
