The Brain Basis of Wisdom

Evolution, Past and FutureGeorge Mobus

University of Washington Tacoma

OutlineWisdom/sapience as a psychological constructFunctional constructs of sapienceBrain structures underlying these functionsOrigins and early evolution of sapienceGenetic considerationsIs Homo sapiens sapient enough?Possible future development/expansion of

sapience

Intelligence

Affect

Creativity

Wisdom

Memory, association, decision taking, problem solving

Emotions, feelings, limbic primitive functions

Novelty detection & generation, temporary

associations

Judgment, moral evaluation, systemic integration, strategic

management

Judgment (practical and reflective)Capacity to deal with ambiguity and

uncertaintyProblem types

Complex social (wicked) Future-oriented (anticipated scenarios and

consequences)

Extended scope in time and spaceStrong moral sentimentsRich tacit knowledge (expertise in life’s

problems)

Sapience – Resolving the Basis of Widsom To the Brain and Genetics

Judgment

Strategicthinking Systems

thinkingMoral

assessment

Decision guidance from tacit knowledge

Future and goal orientedOrganizing,

classifying, model building

Right, wrong, good, bad, cooperation

Functional Constructs of Sapience

Expansion of the frontal lobes relative to the whole brain

Expansion of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

Expansion of the frontopolar region of the DLPFC – Brodmann area 10Increase in relative sizeChanges in cytoarchitectonic features

Increased size and complexity of pyramidal neuronsRich connections via Von Economo (spindle) neurons

with fronto-insular and anterior cingulate corticesReentrant connections with all other PFC areas

Prefrontal cortex Brodmann area 10frontopolar view

Origin and Early Evolution of SapienceSocial animals, altruism, cooperation within groupsEarly hominin family organization – long-term

matingOf grandmothers and grand parenting – group

selection for wisdomLong-term tacit knowledge, judgment for strategic

planning for the tribeTranscending strategic planning for the self alone –

consciousness of being consciousFirst-order consciousness – aware of self and

surroundingsSecond-order consciousness – aware of being

conscious

The relative newness suggests immaturity of development

Low level of impact when compared with other psychological constructs – We are too clever and too ‘passionate’ for our own good!

Human behavior suggests greater average focus on short-term, logistical and tactical thinking in most individualsSteep discounting of the futureProblem-solving and engineering Greedy approachesUnintended consequences prevail

Sapience is a relatively new faculty integrating earlier, established faculties (e.g. systemic thinking and social networking)

Most likely the result of mutations arising within the epigenetic control network as opposed to protein coding genes

A very small set of such mutations could lead to very large changes in morphology and behavior (explain the explosive emergence) – EvoDevo model

Hence there is not likely to be a “gene for sapience”

Level of sapience – a sapience quotient? Measure of strategic thinking competence Measure of systems integration competence Measures of judgment competence in complex issues

Distribution of sapience strength - hypothetical

Methods for mapping non-coding control regions of genome are being developed

Brain imaging studies with higher spatial resolution may allow more detailed mapping of BA10 and other associated regions; post-mortem examinations

Psychological testing of components of wisdom/sapience may provide capacity probes (similar to intelligence testing)

Hypothesis: We will find that there is a wide distribution of sapience capacity indicated by the correlation of the above factors, but the distribution is not normal.

Perhaps Homo sapiens is sufficiently cleverWhat we need isn’t more/greater intelligence or

physical prowessWhat we need is a population of wiser

individualsSome developmental possibilities – nurture

might help, promoting wisdom as the goal of education

Otherwise achievement of a more normal distribution of adequate sapience (and resulting wise behavior) may require genetic intervention

The global challenges before us are actually well understood; in some cases the fixes are known

We’ve had thousands of years of written history to use; why do we keep making the same mistakes of judgment?

Why are our leaders (both democratically and otherwise ensconced) so suspect when it comes to wisdom?

Is it the case that human cleverness has created a world too complex and dynamic for human judgment to manage?

Is it feasible that the brain can continue to evolve in the area of sapience?

Could people in the future act more wisely because their sapience capacity is much greater than today?

How could we get there? Scale of the problem (population size), vs. Rate of climate change and energy and other resource

depletion, vs. Temporal dimensions of natural selectionConjecture: The future survival of the genus

Homo depends on evolving eusapience.