NEURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION

ORIGINS OF THE HUMAN BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR,

CONSCIOUSNESS, AND CULTURE

JOSEPH ALTMAN

Illustrations by Shirley A. Bayer

2011-2016

Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Inc.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This book is available to the public on our website, brainmindevolution.org. It is now complete, including the extensive Bibliography of cited references.

We encourage the free use of these chapters for personal or instructional purposes. However, we retain the copyright to the book and do not permit commercial reproduction and distribution of the chapters in any format.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

iiiTable of Contents and Preface

PREFACEThe modern approach to the study of mental evolution was initiated by Charles Darwin

with his book, The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). However, it took decades before the subject of mental evolution became a widely accepted scientific theory. While Darwin provided a solid and enduring foundation for the theory of organic evolution, he could not muster the necessary evidence for his belief in mental continuity between animals and humans. Being aware of his inadequate background in psychology and neurobiology, he passed his notes on mental evolution to George John Romanes, who was doing research on the nervous system of jellyfish and other lower invertebrates. As a prolific writer, Romanes published several books on the subject of mental evolution, including Mental Evolution in Animals, with a Posthumous Essay on Instinct by Charles Darwin (1883), and Mental Evolution in Man: Origin of Human Faculty (1888). In looking for continuity between the animal and human mind, Romanes focused on presumed shared “instincts” between the two. And in regard to “intelligence,” he sought evidence in animals for rudiments of such human faculties as language, tool making, aesthetic sentiments, and moral sense. Romanes’ effort was not successful because the psychological framework he used was not a felicitous one and because there was little scientific evidence in his days to put the subject of mental evolution on a solid foundation. His work was rejected by the founders of experimental psychology and comparative psychology as an anecdotal enterprise.

Thanks to more than a century of intensive research by psychologists, neurobiologists, paleontologists, archeologists, anthropologists and historians, the theory of mental evolution is accepted today by most scientists. Research by animal and human psychologists, behavioral biologists, cognitive scientists, linguists, and others, allows us to make clearly formulated comparisons between the behavioral and mental faculties of animals and humans. Likewise, the advances made by anatomists, embryologists, physiologists, neurochemists, neuropsychologists, clinical neurologists, and others, provide a solid foundation for comparisons between the structure and functions of the nervous system of animals and humans. Finally, paleontologists, archeologists, physical and cultural anthropologists, and economic, social and cultural historians have amassed a wealth of indirect and direct evidence about the mental evolution of man himself, one that began with ape-like ancestors with a brain and technical skills not much exceeding that of tool-using chimpanzees to modern man with a very large brain and a complex civilization.

The aim of this book is to reconstruct the evolutionary origins of the human body, brain, mind, and culture in terms of a series of “legacies.” That heritage began as protozoans emerged lacking differentiated sense organs and a nervous system but displaying goal-seeking behavior, as witnessed by their extant survivors. This we interpret as indirect evidence that protozoans are sentient beings. The emergence of sentience was followed by a long selection process that culminated, in the vertebrate line, in the evolution of monkeys and apes with large brains, manual dexterity, and indirect evidence of the emergence of tacit awareness. The next stage began with biped hominins who could use their freed hands to produce simple stone tools, and it culminated in the evolution of anatomically modern humans with greatly enlarged brains, elaborate tools, and a rich folk culture. Human mental evolution, from implicit awareness to

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reflective consciousness was, we will argue, language mediated, and it received a great boost when writing was invented and civilizations emerged. That led to a progressive growth in man’s practical and theoretical knowledge, and the human effort to understand what transpires in the external world. The book is divided into three parts, with 12 chapters. Part I is called Historical Background (chapter 1); Part II, The Animal Mind (chapters 2-8); and Part III, The Human Mind (chapters 9-12).

Chapter 1 briefly reviews several ideas and theories entertained by ancient, modern, and contemporary philosophers about the mind’s origin, nature and significance. These ideas are considered in terms of three fundamentally different conceptualizations, mind (a) as a supernatural force, (b) as an epiphenomenon, and (c) as a life-sustaining and life-enhancing organic process. We advocate the latter approach as one resting on solid empirical foundation and promising future advances in our effort to better understand human nature and conduct.

Chapter 2 traces the mind’s putative emergence in protozoans (like amoeba and ciliates) and its early evolution in primitive metazoans (like hydra and jellyfish) and agnathans (like hagfish and lamprey). The attempt is based on what we currently know about their anatomy, physiology, and behavior. We postulate that protozoans displaying goal-seeking behavior are sentient beings but, since they lack sense organs, cannot be aware of the external world. We call this putative primordial mental faculty, protopathic sentience. We attribute the ability to experience primordial sensations to jellyfish with simple eyes and a peripheral nervous system. While they can detect, for instance, obstacles in their path on the basis of luminosity differences, they lack the necessary neural mechanisms to perceive what objects look like on the basis of their shape or texture. Perceptual ability may have begun to emerge in extinct jawless fishes that, as judged by the anatomy of extant lampreys, had well-developed eyes and a brain mechanism, the optic lobe, to process the visual information.

Chapter 3 focuses on the anatomy, behavior and putative mental faculties of cartilaginous and bony fishes, and chapter 4 provides a brief discussion of amphibians and terrestrial reptiles. We provide evidence that fishes have all the necessary visceral, sensory, and motor mechanisms, and the requisite brain mechanisms, to experience emotions like pain and pleasure, fear and rage, and perceive what external objects look like. However, we argue that the perception of fishes devoid of limbs with digits to palpate objects is phenomenal rather than substantive in nature, that is, provides awareness about the surface appearance of things but not their structural properties. The major evolutionary contribution of quadruped amphibians and reptiles has been the various adaptations for terrestrial living.

Chapter 5 deals briefly with the anatomy and behavior of primitive mammals from insectivores to prosimians. We track in these quadrupeds the evolution of a new brain mechanism, the expanding neocortex, and such new behavioral manifestations as intensive care of the young, the ability to learn from experience by associative mechanisms, and interact with one another socially. The shift in arboreal prosimians to the visual guidance of behavior relative to insectivores, which rely more on olfaction, is considered of great significance regarding human mental evolution.

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Chapters 6 and 7 provide a detailed discussion of somatic, neural, behavioral, and mental advances in monkeys. We identify in monkeys such anthropoid traits as the prolonged care of a single offspring; the expansion of the simian neocortex, with a multiplication and elaboration of different neencephalic circuits and networks; and the ability to manipulate objects with dexterous fingers under visual guidance. Among emotional advances displayed by monkeys are displays of exuberance and gregariousness. Their perceptual advance is marked by great curiosity and the ability to appreciate the substantive property of objects they manipulate. Their cognitive advances include enhanced learning and reasoning ability, and the ability to categorize things on the basis of their structural and functional properties.

Chapter 8 ends the discussion of mental evolution in the primate line with a review of somatic, neural and mental advances in chimpanzees, man’s closest extant relatives. We describe the evidence that they use tools, solve difficult behavioral problems, and may be aware of themselves as agents of behavior. We also discuss the controversy regarding their linguistic abilities. In summary, chapters 2-8 describe our animal heritage, what we will refer to as our protozoan, cnidarian, agnathan, piscine, amphibian, reptilian, mammalian, simian, and pongid legacies. We then turn to the evolution of humans.

Chapter 9 reviews our current understanding of the course of man’s somatic, neural, mental, and cultural evolution, beginning with upright human-like apes (Sahelanthropus and Ardipithecus) and ape-like humans, the early australopithecines, and ending with the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages of modern humans. The early hominids had scarcely larger brains than chimpanzees, and left behind no evidence that they could produce stone tools by flaking. They were followed by the late australopithecines and Homo habilis with larger brains, who produced simple stone tools and embarked on a career of aggressive scavenging and hunting. They, in turn, were replaced by Homo erectus with expanding brains, who produced elaborate stone tools, made fire, and were able to colonize Eurasia. These hominins were replaced by archaic humans, and then by anatomically modern Homo sapiens with still larger brains. Cultures emerged with institutions and value systems – marriage and kinship rules, gender roles, social status, etiquette, moral and religious beliefs, aesthetic norms, and so forth – that played increasing roles in the guidance of individual and collective behavior. Following the extinction of the large game they hunted, modern humans began to domesticate animals and plants and adopted a sedentary way of life. This stage was followed in some regions by the replacement of rural societies by larger social and political units.

Chapter 10 briefly reviews what we currently know about the formation of civilizations along river banks and trade routes in the Near East. A new economic, social and political order was established where toiling masses were subjugated by kings, nobles and priests claiming divine rights for their privileged status. The system was enforced by a standing army and managed by a literate class of administrators and engineers. While industry, commerce, and the fine arts flourished, the authoritarian regimentation stifled free thinking and intellectual growth. We follow that by a short account of two early social experiments to create societies run by a free citizenry. Greek seafarers and merchants, settling in harbors along the Mediterranean, were forming independent city states that they themselves administered. Emphasizing logical discourse in running their affairs led to the rise of philosophy and that began to replace the

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traditional mode of mythological thinking. Inspired by the Greeks, the Romans used military might and political tools to impose a law-based rational order in the same geographic area, and beyond. Both experiments failed, but left an enduring legacy.

Chapter 11 will be put on the website in the next few months. That deals with the development of the mindset and ethos in Western Civilization, beginning with the Dark Age and followed by the Age of Faith during the early, high, and late Middle Ages. Chapter 12 will discuss the Age of Reason, beginning with the Enlightenment, the Industrial and the Scientific Revolutions.

Joseph Altman April 25, 2011 revised July 13, 2013

COMMENTS 12/29/2016Joseph Altman completed Chapter 12 in 2014 and decided to write an additional Chapter

13 on the psychology of human individual differences and the tensions created between individuals and societies. He died on April 19, 2016 before Chapter 13 was completed. But much of it was done and just needed to be packaged in an organized and logical progression of topics. I spent several months reading through what he left behind and got some very good help from his daughter, Magda Elizabeth Altman, with removing repetitions and polishing sentences and paragraphs. Chapter 13 is now complete as well as the extensive Bibliography. Everything is available online in pdf format and I welcome all readers to explore these chapters. We have much to learn from Altman’s creative insights about the human mind.

Shirley A. BayerDecember 29, 2016

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Table of Contents

PART I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDCHAPTER 1

SUPERNATURAL, MATERIALISTIC, AND BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF THE MIND

1.1. Prologue: The Problem of Mind and Matter. ............................................................. 21.1.1. Everyday Concepts of the Mind. ..................................................................... 21.1.2. The Idea of Two Domains of Nature. ............................................................. 21.1.3. Traditional Theories of the Mind. ................................................................... 51.1.4. A Proposed Evolutionary Biological Theory. ................................................. 6

1.2. Mind as a Supernatural Force:Animism, Spiritualism, and Vitalism. ....................... 71.2.1. Animism as an Ancient Cultural Tradition. .................................................... 71.2.2. Animism as a Stage in Mental Development. .................................................. 81.2.3. Cosmic Spiritualism: Mind as a Rational Agency of Extrinsic Origin. ........... 91.2.4. Personal Spiritualism: The Immortal Soul as Subjective Experience. .......... 101.2.5. Aristotle’s Vitalism: Mind as a Life Force. .................................................... 131.2.6. Schopenhauer’s Philosophy of “Will.” .......................................................... 141.2.7 Freud’s Theory of the “Id.” ............................................................................. 151.2.8. Biological and Psychological Instinct Theories. ............................................ 161.2.9. From Instincts to the Experimental Study of Motivation and Emotion. ........ 17

1.3. The Mind Ignored or Denied: Materialism, Behaviorism, and Positivism .............. 181.3.1. Early Materialistic Conceptions of the Mind. ................................................ 181.3.2. Mechanistic Theories of the Mind. ................................................................ 191.3.3. Behaviorism: The Mind Viewed as an Epiphenomenon. ............................... 201.3.4. Positivism: The Mind’s Existence Denied. .................................................... 211.3.5. Teleology Without a Mind: The Genetic Blueprint. ...................................... 221.3.6. Artificial Intelligence and Animal Intelligence. ............................................. 23

1.4. Mind as an Organic Process: Biological and Evolutionary Theories. ...................... 251.4.1. Structural and Functional Psychology. .......................................................... 251.4.2. Early Speculations about the Evolution of Mind and Brain. ......................... 261.4.3. Evolution Theory and the Problem of Mental Evolution............................... 271.4.4. Can the Animal Mind be Studied Scientifically? ........................................... 281.4.5. Objective Criteria of Sentience in Animals. .................................................. 301.4.6. The Distinction Between Vegetative Processes and Animative Activities. ... 331.4.7. The Behavioral Action System and Mentation in Animals and Man............. 371.4.8. The Conjoint Evolution of the Behavioral Apparatus and Mentation. .......... 391.4.9. Proposed Grades and Stages in Mental Evolution: A Preview. ..................... 391.4.10. From the Animal to the Human Mind: Language, Reflective Consciousness, and Culture. ........................................................................ 44

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PART II: THE ANIMAL MINDCHAPTER 2

FROM SENTIENCE TO SENSATION: MENTAL EVOLUTION FROM PROTOZOANS TO AGNATHANS

2.1. Prologue: The Origins of Life, Behavior, and Sentience. .......................................... 542.1.1. The Concept of Emergent Evolution. .............................................................. 542.1.2. From Inorganic Molecules to the RNA World. ............................................... 542.1.3. The Quasi-Living Viruses. .............................................................................. 562.1.4. The Simplest Organisms: The Prokaryotes. .................................................... 562.1.5. The Insentient, Stochastic Behavior of Flagellated Bacteria. ......................... 57

2.2. The Evolution of the Behavioral Apparatus and Protopathic Sentience in Amoebas and Ciliates: Our Protozoan Legacy. ..................................................... 60

2.2.1. The Unicellular Eukaryotes: Protophyta and Protozoa. .................................. 602.2.2. The Transient Behavioral Apparatus of Amoebas. ......................................... 612.2.3. The Behavioral Apparatus of a Ciliate: Paramecium. ..................................... 622.2.4. The Behavioral Apparatus of a Flagellate: Euglena. ...................................... 652.2.5. The Teleological Behavior of Protozoans. ...................................................... 672.2.6. The Putative Protopathic Sentience of Protozoans ......................................... 682.2.7. The Limitations of Protozoan Sentience and Behavior .................................. 712.2.8. Our Protozoan Legacy .................................................................................... 74

2.3. The Evolution of the Peripheral Nervous System and the Emergence of Sensation in Headless Radiata: Our Cnidarian Legacy. ....................................... 75

2.3.1. Porifera: From Protozoans to Metazoans. ..................................................... 752.3.2. Cnidarians: Hydra and Jellyfishes. ................................................................ 752.3.3. The Sense Organs and Sensory Discrimination in Cnidarians. ..................... 772.3.4. The Neurons and Peripheral Nervous System of Cnidarians. . ...................... 792.3.5. The Behavior of Cnidarians. .......................................................................... 802.3.6. Cnidarian Mentation: From Protopathic Sentience to Qualeous Sensation. .. 822.3.7. Our Cnidarian Legacy. .................................................................................... 83

2.4. From Radial to Bilateral Body Organization, Emergence of the Head and the Brain, and Mental Advances in Planarians. ................................................. 84

2.4.1. The Evolution of Animals with a Bilateral Body and a Head. ....................... 842.4.2. The Behavioral Apparatus of Planarians. ....................................................... 842.4.3. Behavioral Advances in Planarians. .............................................................. 872.4.4. The Mental Status of Planarians. .................................................................. 89

2.5. The Emergence of the Vertebrate Head, Neuroepithelium, and the Paleocephalon: Our Chordate and Agnathan Legacies ............................................. 90

2.5.1. The Invertebrate and Vertebrate Divide. ......................................................... 902.5.2. Extant Primitive Chordates: The Ascidians and Amphioxus .......................... 912.5.3. Extinct Chordates with a Head and a Brain: Yunnanozoon and Haikouella. . 952.5.4. Extinct and Extant Jawless Fishes: The Agnathans. ...................................... 962.5.5. The Origins of the Vertebrate Neuroepithelium. .......................................... 1042.5.6. The Origins of the Vertebrate Head and the Paleocephalon. ....................... 1092.5.7. Our Chordate and Agnathan Legacies. ........................................................ 111

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CHAPTER 3

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR, AND MIND IN JAWED FISHESBasic Affects and Phenomenal Awareness in Limbless Vertebrates

3.1 The Body, Brain and Behavior of Jawed Fishes: Our Piscine Neural Legacy ......... 1143.1.1. Extinct and Extant Cartilaginous and Bony Fishes ...................................... 1143.1.2. Somatic and Visceral Advances in Fishes . ................................................... 1163.1.3. Sensory Advances in Fishes . ........................................................................ 1183.1.4. Neural Advances in Fishes ........................................................................... 1223.1.5. Piscine Contributions to the Evolution of our Head and Brain .................... 1363.1.6. Our Piscine Neural Legacy ........................................................................... 140

3.2. Evidence for Basic Feelings and Emotions in Jawed Fishes: Our Piscine Affective Legacy .................................................................................. 140

3.2.1. Do Fish have Feelings and Emotions? . ........................................................ 1403.2.2. The Endocrinological Approach to the Study of Emotions .......................... 1423.2.3. Behavioral Studies of Emotional Expression in Fishes ............................... 1443.2.4. The Comparative Neurology of Emotions in Mammals and Fishes ............ 1513.2.5. The Emotions of Fish and Our Piscine Affective Legacy ............................ 160

3.3. Configural Perception, Memory, and Phenomenal Awareness in Fishes: Our Piscine Perceptual Legacy ............................................................................... 164

3.3.1. Brain Mechanisms of Perception in Fishes ................................................. 1643.3.2. Configural Perception, or Isomorphous Representation in Fishes .............. 1643.3.3. Visual Mechanisms and Visual Perception in Fishes .................................. 1653.3.4. Phenomenal Awareness of the Visual World in Fishes ................................ 1673.3.5. Learning and Recognition Memory in Fishes ............................................. 1693.3.6. Recollection Memory and Imagery in Fishes .............................................. 1733.3.7. Short-Term Working Imagery in Fishes ....................................................... 1753.3.8. Phenomenal Awareness as Our Piscine Perceptual Legacy .......................... 179

CHAPTER 4

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR, AND MIND IN QUADRUPED AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILESTerrestrial Vertebrate Adaptations

4.1 Somatic, Neural, Behavioral, and Mental Adaptations in Newts and Frogs: Our Amphibian Legacy............................................................................................. 182

4.1.1. Amphibians: The Transition from Water to Land ......................................... 1824.1.2. Somatic, Behavioral, and Neural Adaptations in Amphibians . .................... 184

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4.1.3. Amphibian Affects, Perception and Cognition . ........................................... 2004.1.4. Our Amphibian Legacy ................................................................................ 206

4.2. Somatic, Neural, and Behavioral Advances in Lizards:: Our Reptilian Legacy ............................................................................................... 207

4.2.1. The Evolution of Reptiles . ........................................................................... 2074.2.2. Visceral, Somatic, and Neural Advances in Reptiles .................................... 2074.2.3. Expressions of Feelings and Emotions in Reptiles ...................................... 2284.2.4. Perception, Memory and Cognition in Reptiles ........................................... 2334.2.5. Our Reptilian Legacy ................................................................................... 234

CHAPTER 5

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR, AND MIND FROM BASAL MAMMALS TO PROSIMIANSThe Dawn of Substantive Perception

5.1 General Visceral, Somatic, Behavioral, and Mental Advances in Mammals ........... 2405.1.1. The Origin and Radiation of Mammals ........................................................ 2405.1.2. Visceral and Somatic Advances in Mammals . ............................................. 2415.1.3. Neural and Behavioral Advances in Mammals ............................................. 2465.1.4. Affective Advances in Mammals ................................................................. 2515.1.5. Perceptual, Mnemonic, and Cognitive Advances in Mammals ................... 255

5.2. Brain, Behavior, and Mind in Basal Mammals: Insectivores and Tupaias .............. 2675.2.1. Generalists and Specialists in Mammalian Evolution . ................................ 2675.2.2. Somatic Traits, Behavior, and Brain Organization of Insectivores ............... 2705.2.3. Somatic Traits, Behavior, and Brain Organization of Tupaias .................... 2745.2.4. Affect and Cognition in Tupaias ................................................................... 283

5.3. Brain, Behavior, and Mind in Basal Primates: The Prosimians .............................. 2875.3.1. The Origin and Arboreal Adaptations of Primates . ...................................... 2875.3.2. Advanced Somatic, Reproductive, and Developmental Traits of Prosimians ...................................................... 2885.3.3. Behavioral and Neural Advances in Prosimians .......................................... 2895.3.4. Affective Advances in Prosimians ............................................................... 3005.3.5. Cognitive Advances in Prosimians ............................................................... 3025.3.6. Our Basal Mammalian and Prosimian Legacies .......................................... 306

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CHAPTER 6

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY AND BRAIN, AND OF SENSORY AND MOTOR PROCESSING IN MONKEYSHand-Eye Coordination, Manual Dexterity, and Substantive Perception

6.1 Somatic and Behavioral Advances in Monkeys: The Evolution of Anthropoid Traits .......................................................................... 310

6.1.1. Simian Arboreal Adaptations ........................................................................ 3106.1.2. Simian Somatic Advances . .......................................................................... 312

6.2. Neural Advances: Expansion and Structural Differentiation of the Simian Neocortex .......................................................................................... 318

6.2.1. Volumetric Expansion of the Simian Neocortex ........................................... 3186.2.2. Increased Foliation of the Simian Neocortex ............................................... 3206.2.3. Organization of the Simian Neocortex ........................................................ 3226.2.4. Classical Ideas About the Organization of the Simian Neocortex ................. 3326.2.5. Contemporary Methods in the Study of Simian Brain Organization ............. 3346.2.6. New Ideas About the Organization of the Simian Neocortex: A Preview ..... 339

6.3. Perceptual Processing in the Occipital, Parietal, and Temporal Projection and Association Areas ........................................................................... 341

6.3.1. Visual Processing in the Occipital Lobe . ..................................................... 3416.3.2. Visual Processing in the Occipital and Temporal Association Areas ........... 3456.3.3. Haptic Information Processing in the Postcentral and Parietal Cortices ..... 3506.3.4. The Haptic Association Areas of the Parietal Cortex ................................... 3536.3.5. Auditory Processing in the Superior Temporal Cortex ................................ 356

6.4 Motor Processing in the Anterior Neocortex and the Affiliated Striatum and Cerebellum .......................................................................................... 360

6.4.1. The Anterior Neocortical Motor Projection and Association Areas ............. 3606.4.2. Organization of the Primary Motor Projection Area ..................................... 3616.4.3. Organization of the Premotor Association Areas ......................................... 3646.4.4. The Neostriatum and the Cortico-Striatal Feedback Loop .......................... 3706.4.5. The Neocerebellum and the Cortico-Cerebellar Feedback Loop ................. 3766.5. Simian Perceptual Advances: Enhanced Substantive Awareness ................... 3806.6. Our Simian Somatic, Neural, and Sensorimotor Legacies ............................. 383

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CHAPTER 7

THE EVOLUTION OF HIGHER LEVEL NEURAL AND MENTAL FUNCTIONS IN MONKEYSMotivational, Affective, Mnemonic, and Cognitive Advances

7.1 Simian Motivational and Affective Advances: Behavioral Manifestations and Neural Mechanisms ................................................ 386

7.1.1. Motivational and Emotional Advances in Monkeys ..................................... 3867.1.2. Curiosity and Exuberance: The Affects of Exploration and Playfulness ...... 3877.1.3. Maternal-Filial Affection and Dependence ................................................... 3917.1.4. Amicability and Hostility: Ambivalent Social Relations ............................. 3937.1.5. The Modification of Basic Affects by Experience and Learning ................. 397

7.2. The Simian Limbic System: Neural Mechanisms of Affective Motivation ............ 4037.2.1. The Organization of the Limbic System ...................................................... 4037.2.2. The Ganglionic Components of the Limbic System .................................... 4067.2.3. The Allocortical Component of the Limbic System: The Hippocampus ...... 4157.2.4. The Neocortical Components of the Limbic System ................................... 422

7.3. Simian Mnemonic Advances and the Temporal Cortex .......................................... 4327.3.1. Mnemonic Advances: Learning Based on Memory Images ........................ 4327.3.2. The Role of the Temporal Cortex in Memory and Learning ....................... 439

7.4 Simian Cognitive and Volitional Advances and the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex .................................................................................. 444

7.4.1. From Perception and Recollection to the Emergence of Cognition and Volition .................................................................................................. 4447.4.2. Simian Insight: Monkeys’ Ability to Form Sketchy Concepts ..................... 4457.4.3. Volitional Behavior: Planning, Deliberation, Collaboration and Learning by Imitation ............................................................................ 4497.4.4. Volitional Advances: Tool-Using Monkeys’ Limited Reliance on Insight and Foresight ............................................................................. 4517.4.5. Monkeys’ Limited Ability to Think and Absence of Self-Awareness .......... 4537.4.6. Simian Advances in Social Cognition and Communication ........................ 4557.4.7. The Role of the Simian Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition and Volition ................................................................................ 458

7.5. Functional Localization in the Simian Cerebral Cortex and the Organization of Operational CNS Networks ............................................. 470

7.5.1. Functional Divisions of the Simian Cerebral Cortex ................................... 4707.5.2. Organization of the Operational Networks of the Simian CNS .................... 4737.5.3. A Tentative List of Operational Networks ................................................... 4747.5.4. Our Simian Legacy of Higher Mental Functiona ......................................... 478

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CHAPTER 8

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND MIND IN CHIMPANZEESFurther Advances in Tacit Awareness

8.1 The Evolution of the Somatic and Behavioral Adaptations in Apes......................... 4828.1.1. The Evolution of Apes .................................................................................. 4828.1.2. Somatic Adaptations of the Extant Lesser and Greater Apes ....................... 4828.1.3. Behavioral Adaptations of the Great Apes .................................................... 483

8.2. The Somatic, Behavioral, and Neural Adaptations of Chimpanzees ....................... 4838.2.1. Chimpanzee Reproduction and Development ............................................. 4838.2.2. Chimpanzee Daily Behavior and Social Organization ................................ 4858.2.3. Chimpanzees’ Use of Natural and Modified Tools ....................................... 4888.2.4. Neural Evolution: Expansion and Differentiation of the Chimpanzee Neocortex ..................................................................................................... 491

8.3. Chimpanzee Mental Evolution: Affective, Perceptual, Mnemomic Instrumental, and Cognitive Advances .................................................................... 496

8.3.1. Affective Advances of Chimpanzees ............................................................ 4968.3.2. Perceptual and Mnemonic Advances of Chimpanzees ................................ 5008.3.3. Cognitive Aspects of Chimpanzee Tool Use ............................................... 5048.3.4. Referential Communication by Trained Chimpanzees ................................ 5098.3.5. Advances in Chimpanzee’s Social Cognition ............................................. 5188.3.6. The Cognitive Abilities and Limitations of Chimpanzees .......................... 5208.3.7. Do Chimpanzees Have a Culture? ............................................................... 5248.3.8. Our Pongid Somatic and Mental Legacies .................................................. 525

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PART III: THE HUMAN MIND

CHAPTER 9

THE EVOLUTION OF BODY, BRAIN, BEHAVIOR, CULTURE, AND MENTALITY FROM THE PALEOLITHIC TO THE NEOLITHIC

Emergence of Reflective Consciousness9.1 The Idea of Man's Cultural and Mental Evolution: A Brief History ......................... 530

9.1.1. Early Ideas of Human Cultural and Mental Evolution ................................. 5309.1.2. The Anthropological Theory of Culture, and Stages of Cultural Evolution ................................................................. 5319.1.3. The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Prehistoric Cultural and Mental Evolution .................................................. 533

9.2. Cranial and Skeletal Evolution from Hominoid Apes to Homo sapiens: The Paleontological Evidence ................................................................................. 535

9.2.1. From Apes to the Evolving Hominoids ....................................................... 5359.2.2. The Evolution of Hominids: The Early Australopithecines ......................... 5379.2.3. The Evolution of Hominins: Homo habilis and Homo erectus ..................... 5409.2.4. The Evolution of Humans: The Robust and Gracile Homo sapiens ............ 541

9.3. Cultural Evolution from the Early Paleolithic to the Neolithic: The Archeological Evidence .................................................................................... 552

9.3.1. Cultural Evolution Reflected by the Succession of Improved Stone Tool Industries ................................................................................... 5529.3.2. Early Paleolithic Cultures: The Production of Simple Oldowan Tools ....... 5539.3.3. Middle Paleolithic Cultures: The Manufacture of Advanced Acheulean and Mousterian Tools ................................................................. 5549.3.4. Late Paleolithic Cultures: The Production of Special Purpose Tools .......... 5589.3.5. The Mesolithic Transition: Decimation of the Megafauna and Establishing Settlements ..................................................................... 5609.3.6. The Neolithic Revolution: Building Permanent Villages and Domesticating Plants and Animals ............................................................ 5619.3.7. Archeological Evidence for the Evolution of Art ........................................ 5679.3.8. Archeological Evidence for the Evolution of Religion and Morality .......... 571

9.4. The Cultural and Mental Evolution of Hominids and Hominins: An Interpretation Based on the Material Evidence .................................................. 576

9.4.1. Stages in the Mental Evolution of Animals Relevant to Man's Ancestry ..... 5769.4.2. Hominid and Hominin Evolution: A Recapitulation of the Paleontological and Archeological Evidence ................................................ 5779.4.3. Hominid Cultural and Mental Evolution: The Early and Late Australopithecines .......................................................................................... 578

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9.4.4. Hominin Cultural and Mental Evolution: Homo erectus and Homo Heidelbergensis ................................................................................... 583

9.5. The Contributions of Anthropology to our Understanding of Human Cultural and Mental Evolution ................................................................................ 588

9.5.1. The Anthropological Perspective on Human Mental Evolution .................. 5889.5.2. Culture and Mental Development: The Role of Institutions, Conventions, and the Social Order .............................................................. 5889.5.3. Ethnological Descriptions of Societies Analogous to the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic ........................................................... 5939.5.4. Ethnological Descriptions of Societies Analogous to the Neolithic .............. 599

9.6. The Cultural and Mental Evolution of Homo sapiens: A Synthesis of the Archeological and Anthropological Evidence ......................................................... 604

9.6.1. Cultural Evolution of Homo sapiens from the Late Paleolithic to the Neolithic ................................................................... 6049.6.2. Mental Evolution of Homo sapiens from the Late Paleolithic to the Neolithic ............................................................................................. 6189.6.3. The Emergence of Reflective Consciousness .............................................. 6259.6.4. Our Paleolithic and Neolithic Legacies ....................................................... 626

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CHAPTER 10

TECHNICAL, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION FROM THE ARCHAIC MIDEASTERN TO THE CLASSICAL GREEK AND ROMAN CIVILIZATIONS

Towards the Liberation of Consciousness10.1 The Psychological Approach to the Study of Civilizations. .................................. 630

10.1.1. Rational, Mnemonic and Affective Factors. .............................................. 63010.1.2. Quasi-Psychological Theories: Spengler, Sorokin, and Toynbee. ............. 63210.1.3. A Biopsychological Approach to the Study of Civilizations. ..................... 635

10.2. The History, and the Practical and Ideational Ethos and Mindset of the Archaic Civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt ............................................. 640

10.2.1. The Social, Economic and Political History of the Archaic Mesopotamian Civilization. ....................................................................... 64010.2.2. A Mindset Analysis of the Archaic Mesopotamian Civilization ................. 65410.2.3. The Social, Economic and Political History of the Archaic Egyptian Civilization. ................................................................................ 65810.2.4. A Mindset Analysis of the Archaic Egyptian Civilization. ........................ 67310.2.5. A Brief Review of the Ethos of Some Other Archaic Civilizations. ........... 67910.2.6. Summary: The Organization, Ethos and Mindset of the Different Archaic Civilizations. ................................................................. 689

10.3. The History, and the Practical and Ideational Ethos and Mindset of the Classical Civilizations of Greece and Rome .......................................................................... 693

10.3.1. The Social, Economic and Political History of the Classical Greek Civilization. ..................................................................... 69310.3.2. The Ethos and Mindset of Classical Greek Civilization. ........................... 69810.3.3. The Social, Technical, Economic and Political History of the Roman Civilization. ........................................................................ 71410.3.4. The Religious, Educational and Social History of the Roman Civilization. ............................................................................ 724

10.4. Ideational Evolution from the Archaic to the Classical Civilizations: A Summary ............................................................................................................ 731

10.4.1. The Ethos and Mindset of Archaic and Classical Civilizations. ................ 73110.4.2. Primitive Consciousness: From the Yoked Will Towards the Free Will. .... 74010.4.3. Our Archaic and Classical Legacies. ........................................................... 743

xviiTable of Contents and Preface

CHAPTER 11

TECHNICAL, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION FROM THE DARK AGE THROUGH THE MIDDLE AGES OF WESTERN CIVILIZATIONBanishment of the Freedom of Consciousness

11.1. The Ethos and Mindset of Western Civilization from the Dark Age through the Middle Ages: A Preview .................................................... 74611.2. The Dark Age of Western Civilization: Collapse of the Roman Empire, the Jewish Prophetic Tradition, and Early Christianity ........................................... 748

11.2.1. The Collapse of the Roman Empire ........................................................... 74811.2.2. The Prophets of Israel, Jesus, the Jewish Diaspora, and Early Christianity ................................................................................. 75111.2.3. The Formation of Christian Ideology and Doctrines ................................. 75711.2.4. The Mindset and Ethos of the Western Dark Age ...................................... 763

11.3. The Early, High, and Late Middle Ages: From the Establishment of Nation States and the Papacy to the Renaissance and Reformation ............................................. 768

11.3.1. The Early Medieval Period: Conversion of the Barbarians, Rise of Papal Power, and Formation of Nation States ............................... 76811.3.2. The High Medieval Period: Feudalism, the Rise of Nation States, the Black Death, and the Papacy .............................................................. 77311.3.3. Medieval Instrumental Advances: Economy, Technology, and Social Organization ....................................... 78611.3.4. Medieval Ideational Regression: Ecclesiastical Education and Scholastic Philosophy ................................. 80111.3.5. The Late Medieval Period: The Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Counter Reformation ..................................................................... 807

11.4. The Medieval Mnemonic Mindset and Ethos: The Promotion of Mental Conformity and Anti-Rationalism .......................................................................... 820

11.4.1. The Mnemonic Foundation of Religious Belief ........................................ 82011.4.2. The Ubiquity of Religious Faith and the Appeal of Christianity ................ 82311.4.3. Instrumental Rational Advances and Ideational Regression ........................ 82811.4.4. Mindset and Ethos of the Different Social Classes ..................................... 84011.4.5. Christian Ideals and Medieval Realities ..................................................... 84611.4.6. Our Medieval Cultural Legacy .................................................................. 853

xviii © J. ALTMAN: NEURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION

CHAPTER 12

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ADVANCES, AND POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE EARLY MODERN AGE UNTIL THE PRESENTThe Promotion and Resistance to Universal Rationalism

12.1. Advances in Science and Technology from the 17th through the 18th Centuries. ................................................................... 858

12.1.1. From the Age of Faith Towards the Age of Reason ..................................... 85812.1.2. The Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century ............................................ 86012.1.3. Expanding Horizons: Exploration and Colonization ................................... 86912.1.4. Scientific Advances in the 18th Century ...................................................... 87312.1.5. The Beginning of the Industrial Revolution: Invention of the Steam Engine .................................................................... 876

12.2. Political and Social Developments in the 17th and 18th Centuries, and the Age of Enlightenment ................................................................................. 878

12.2.1. Political Developments: From Autocracies to Constitutional Governments ...................................... 87812.2.2. Social Developments: The Victims of Colonization and the Industrial Revolution ....................................................................... 88412.2.3. Intellectual Developments: The British, French, and American Enlightenment .................................... 885

12.3. Advances in Science and Technology, and Social and Political Conflicts from the Early 19th Century until World War I ....................................................... 899

12.3.1. Scientific Advances from the 19th Century to World War I ........................ 89912.3.2. Advances in Technology During the 19th Century ...................................... 91012.3.3. Economic, Political, and Social Conflicts From the Early 19th Century until World War I .......................................... 91612.3.4. Social Developments in the 19th Century: Beneficiaries and Casualties ........................................................................ 922

xixTable of Contents and Preface

12.4. Advances in Science and Technology, and the Regression to Savagery During the First Half of the 20th Century ............................................................... 926

12.4.1. Advances in the Physical Sciences: New Concepts of Matter, Energy, and the Universe .................................... 92612.4.2. Advances in Technology: Modern Automobiles, Airplanes, and Synthetic Materials .......................... 92812.4.3. Advances in the Life Sciences during the Early 20th Century .................... 93112.4.4. The Return to Savagery: The First World War, 1914-1918 ......................... 93412.4.5. Social and Political Conflicts of the Interwar Period: 1919-1939 ............... 93712.4.6. The Escalation of Savagery: The Second World War, 1939-1945 ............... 947

12.5. Advances in Science and Technology, the Cold War, and the Rapidly Changing Contemporary Social Order ....................................................... 955

12.5.1. Advances in the Physical and Life Sciences ................................................ 95512.5.2. Technological Advances in Engineering, Communication, Computation, Automation, and Transportation ............................................ 96012.5.3. Advances in Agriculture, Nutrition, Medicine, and Pharmacology ............. 97012.5.4. The Cold War and its Aftermath .................................................................. 98012.5.5. The Contemporary World: Political, Economic and Social Advances, and Persisting Problems ................................................. 984

xx © J. ALTMAN: NEURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION

CHAPTER 13

HUMAN PERSONLITY DIFFERENCES AND INDIVIDUAL ASSIMILATION IN MODERN SOCIETIESRealizing Individual Potential in Imperfectly Structured Societies

13.1. The Paradoxical Persistence of Irrationalism in our Age of Reason . ........... 99813.1.1. The Promise and Rejection of Science in Today’s World ............................ 99813.1.2. Science and the Mind-Body Problem ........................................................ 100013.1.3. The Evolutionary Perspective vs. Intelligent Design ................................. 100413.1.4. Man’s Unique Intelligence and the Belief in the Immortal Soul ............... 100813.1.5. Climate Change and Environmental Modification .................................... 1010

13.2. The Dynamics of our Neuropsychological Evolutionary Heritage ....................... 101113.2.1. The Accumulation of Advances in Brain Function .................................... 101113.2.2. Epistomology ............................................................................................. 101313.2.3. Thought Requires Language-Based Mental Activity ................................ 1021

13.3. Individual Differences in Temperament ................................................................ 102813.3.1. The Emotional Basis of Temperamental Traits .......................................... 102813.3.2. Factor Analysis of Individual Differences in Temperamental Traits ......... 103213.3.3. A List of Bivalent Emotions and Corresponding Temperaments ............... 103413.3.4. Gluttony, Laziness and Drug Use .............................................................. 103713.3.5. Irritability, Hostility and Violence ............................................................. 103913.3.6. Extroversion, Introversion, Gregariousness and Solitariness .................... 104513.3.7. The Heritability of Temperamental Traits .................................................. 104613.3.8. The Affective-Compulsive Mindset ........................................................... 1048

13.4. Individual Differences in Character ....................................................................... 104913.4.1. Understanding Character Traits ................................................................. 104913.4.2. Experimental Studies of Character Traits .................................................. 105113.4.3. The Basis of Character Formation ............................................................. 105113.4.4. The Mnemonic Mindset ............................................................................. 1059

xxiTable of Contents and Preface

13.5. Individual Differences in Intelligence ................................................................... 106213.5.1. The Testing of Intelligence ........................................................................ 106313.5.2. The Stability and Heritability of Intelligence ............................................ 106813.5.3. The Rational-Critical Mindset ................................................................... 1071

13.6. Collective Differences in Our Culturally-Based Value Systems ........................... 107213.6.1. The Individual and Society ........................................................................ 107213.6.2. Varieties of Social Affiliation ..................................................................... 1073

13.7. Religion and Society .............................................................................................. 108113.7.1. Religion is Based on Imagination .............................................................. 108113.7.2. Religion Gives Comfort and Support ........................................................ 108313.7.3. The Negative Aspects of Religious Fervor (Religiosity) ........................... 108513.7.4. Religion is a Divisive Force in Society ..................................................... 1086

13.8. Hope for the Future: Pursuing Morality Based on Social Justice .......................... 108913.8.1. Origins of Morality .................................................................................... 108913.8.2. The Development of Morality ................................................................... 109213.8.3. Morality Based on a Just Social Order ...................................................... 1095

FINAL COMMENT: JOSEPH ALTMAN 1925-2016 ................................................... 1104

xxii © J. ALTMAN: NEURAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION

BIBLIOGRAPHYA ............................................................................................................................. 1106-1114

B ............................................................................................................................. 1114-1138

C ............................................................................................................................. 1138-1151

D ............................................................................................................................ 1152-1163

E, F ......................................................................................................................... 1163-1176

G, H........................................................................................................................1176-1207

I, J ..........................................................................................................................1207-1215

K ............................................................................................................................1215-1229

L .............................................................................................................................1229-1241

M ............................................................................................................................1241-1261

N, O........................................................................................................................1261-1270

P, Q .........................................................................................................................1270-1282

R .............................................................................................................................1283-1295

S .............................................................................................................................1295-1320

T, U ........................................................................................................................1320-1330

V, W .......................................................................................................................1330-1347

X, Y, Z ....................................................................................................................1347-1350