Thought paper 2 - Grade: A PDF

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thought paper chapters 8-15...

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Madeline Wade PSY-3203-995 While studying the ways our mind grasps what is going on around us, several questions came to mind concerning just how we as humans are able to accomplish such extraordinary cognitive thoughts and solve the most difficult problems, while other animals have no such abilities. One of the most fascinating capabilities of humans is our ability to self-reflect. Is selfreflection the ultimate distinction between humans and other species? The ability for us to wonder about our purpose and contemplate the meaning of life is a trait unique to our species. From this ability, we have created literature, music, infrastructure, economy, and a communication system that allows ideas to be shared globally. It has always baffled me that human beings have evolved from such a simple and mundane ancestor. The environment we have created as a whole has nurtured the continuation of curiosity and reflection that each person feels within themselves. We are naturally curious and this curiosity has led to amazing human development. Our thoughts and ability to feel emotion goes far beyond the basic needs for survival. Other animals have no deeper thoughts than their immediate evolutionary needs. The cognition is led by the need to eat and reproduce and avoid predation. Our ability to philosophize and ponder is a trait that has separated us from other animals. I believe a lot of this has to do with our ability to communicate through language. The revolution of language has allowed so much human evolution to occur. Anyone can have an idea that can be translated to another person with the ability to make it happen. Ideas for improvement of the species as a

whole thrust our development into the future. Human thought seems to go far beyond that because our evolutionary path has allowed us to not worry about hunting. But how much of our thoughts are purely evolutionary based? We may think we have motivation and passions and intellect that is so incomparable to other animals that we must be divinely made or distinct, but many of our needs are purely evolutionary. Our drive to compete by having a good education, a good job, a beautiful house is the same drive that leads birds to build bigger and brighter nests, and the basic motivation behind this is attraction of a mate. As humans, over time we have developed many complex patterns and obviously not everyone is inclined to find a mate or be around others at all, but our entire social system of norms has evolved from the need to reproduce and the desire to outrun the competition. At the midbrain level, we are no different than any other animal. But it has been the ability to adapt beyond that that has led to the development of the forebrain which allows for complex thought and problem solving. It is fascinating to think about the potential of human cognitive ability in the future. We already have access to so much information and this will only be compounded over time so no intellectual development needs to be lost. This could potentially lead to evolutionary feats that would include a larger access of our brain and a more complex ability to self-reflect, imagine, and create. The basis and evolution of language is quite fascinating in this process, and I enjoyed learning about the ways we are able to manipulate speech and apply meaning to it. By manipulating the capabilities of our mouths, over time humans have applied meaning to sounds. Evolutionarily this tactic has become almost an innate human trait as humans are biologically inclined to communicate. The variety of language also shows how much human

development and cognitive evolution have diverged over time. It is fascinating that such a diverse array of languages have come about over the period of human existence and how the act of learning these languages has become a defined art. We as humans are curious and able to reflect on what we do and do not know, and our quest for knowledge is what drives our development as a species....