Antonios:

Lovely posts. I know we aren't always in agreement but neverteless you seem like a really nice bloke.

pynch

Just some clarification on my previous (Friday) post ...

Contrary to what some posters claim, I did not say that as a feminist I totally support social conditioning over biology. I said that, as a feminist, I LEAN towards social conditioning. There's a difference. I also said in my post previous to that one, that I did not believe men were inherently better or worse people than women.

Far too much is made of testosterone in men as the reason for male aggression when the true problem - as I see it - lies with the historical exploitation of men's physical strength.

The last 4-6 milennia have been a period of virtually non-stop, highly organised warfare, unprecedented in human history. Predictably, males have been more valued than females over that time because of their superior physical strength, which has been harnessed and exploited by power elites in their successive power struggles with other power elites.

Most societies put up a show of condemning male violence. However, the reality is that it's still very much a covertly valued commodity. Little boys pick up on this confusing contradiction early in life and, I suspect, spend their entire lives trying to come to terms with it.

The emotional and often physical separation of men from their children - which is enshrined in 20th century child custody laws - is a hangover from the historical male 'decompassioning' process to make men better and more obedient fighters.

In the face of all the macho crap men are still drip-fed throughout their lives, it's a wonder so many manage to be decent fathers and partners at all.

My Father's Son
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CLO59_IJng&feature=PlayList&p=A285431CE3A9BB47&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=30

*And hence I have no reason for supposing my
brain is composed of atoms.*

Pynchme, clearly your author was mistaken! So I'll give you
a better quote from Susan Greenfield, who is better informed
about the topic:

"Now my own view is that the mind is more than just the brain, it is the personalisation of the brain through connections. Susan Greenfield"

*Hormones seem to drive certain impulses and urges, but they in turn are governed by cognitive capacity*

Actually not quite so Pymchme, for they all compete, different
centres of the brain adding input at different levels. Emotional
centres always have some input, usually at the sub concious.
Modern equipment used in neuroscience today can show that.

Under your scenario, people would be totally rational individuals
and they are clearly not. So they will commonly follow their feelings, then rationalise away their behaviour.

Ever heard of "chemistry" when falling in love? I thought so lol.

IMHO Fractelle's problem is a tiny thinggy about the size of
an almond in her brain, called the amygdala. Its there for good
evolutionary reasons. It registers any kind of serious trauma that
we have experienced, like bad relationships etc. When anything
reminds us of that trauma, even in a roundabout way, it triggers.

Its the reason people like my dad could never get over his childhood,
something that I never understood, until I got interested in how
brains function.

Given that Antonious won't accept that humans are just another
species of animal, here is a cute story to show that even
some birdbrains are pretty smart critters!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8181233.stm

Yabby
What you say are the very basics, I am atheist that means I do not speak for seouls and ghosts. What I say is that we save our memory in a specific part of our brain, we use an other part of our brain for the hate etc. All these procces are chemical procces not metaphisic one BUT THEY OBEY TO MY DECISIONS, TO MY ORDERS. I am the boss of my chemistry not the chemistry the boss of me.
I speak for the boss who takes the decisions, you try to tell me how the system works!
I decided to go to the market sir with my car and you say me how the car is working! I know or I do not care for it, It is much better instead to weast your time explaining me how the brain or the car is working, it is better if you give money for the shoping! That is my problem, humans have to solve real problems, human are burning for what they want and not how the brain works!
Something you wrote for Fractelle she has very high standards, probably she is a beautiful woman too and I supposed she is interested for a man of her level, of her standards. If she wanted a man like me she could find one million! It is not easy to find a quality man or a quality woman!
It is not the bad man or the bad women who have problems to find their other half, but the good one, the quality men or women.
More I know Fractelle more I find that she is an exelent person, you do not care and do not know or understand from human characters, from human values and moral codes. For you humans are not different from the animals and if we know the animals then we know the humans too.
Next time when you will be sick I will phone a doctor for the pets to check you, not big different!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Sheesh Fraccy, looks like you have a great admirer there, there
is hope for you yet :)

Antonious, never underestimate what we can learn from the natural
world and other species. When scientists looking for new drugs
followed chimps to see what leaves they ate, sure enough, some
of them contained compounds which killed worms!

Human society
thrives because of the interlinking of our brains due to language,
so you have this cumulative effect of billions of brains cooperating.
Other primates can't pronounce consonant sounds like we do and are
stuck with vowels, so communication is limited and far more difficult.

OTOH they are far smarter then most people give them credit for and
if we set Antonious and a chimp loose in the jungle, one for one,
chances are pretty high that the chimp would thrive and you might
starve. For this very reason I have a respect for nature which
you clearly don't share.

*I am the boss of my chemistry not the chemistry the boss of me.*

People keep saying that and then rush off to follow their feelings!
That is why my point, instinct, genes, brain chemicals matter and
affect what you think is pure free will. Its an illusion to some
extent. You are the product of your genes interacting with your
environment.

*I know or I do not care for it, It is much better instead to weast your time explaining me how the brain or the car is working*

Ah Antonious, until your car plays up and you won't have a clue as
to how to fix it,if you don't know it works.

People have speculated about human behaviour for thousands of years,
usually coming to the wrong conclusions. With neuroscience we start
to look inside that brain to see what is going on and the information
is fascinating, for it explains human behaviour.

If you don't understand human behaviour and why it occurs, you will
never solve humanity's problems. Its as simple as that.