In the Light of Evolution : Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery

Humans possess certain unique mental traits. Self-reflection, as well as ethic and aesthetic values, is among them, constituting an essential part of what we call the human condition. The human mental machinery led our species to have a self-awareness but, at the same time, a sense of justice, willing to punish unfair actions even if the consequences of such outrages harm our own interests. Also, we appreciate searching for novelties, listening to music, viewing beautiful pictures, or living in well-designed houses. But why is this so? What is the meaning of our tendency, among other particularities, to defend and share values, to evaluate the rectitude of our actions and the beauty of our surroundings? What brain mechanisms correlate with the human capacity to maintain inner speech, or to carry out judgments of value? To what extent are they different from other primates' equivalent behaviors?

In the Light of Evolution Volume VII aims to survey what has been learned about the human "mental machinery." This book is a collection of colloquium papers from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "The Human Mental Machinery," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 11-12, 2013. The colloquium brought together leading scientists who have worked on brain and mental traits. Their 16 contributions focus the objective of better understanding human brain processes, their evolution, and their eventual shared mechanisms with other animals. The articles are grouped into three primary sections: current study of the mind-brain relationships; the primate evolutionary continuity; and the human difference: from ethics to aesthetics. This book offers fresh perspectives coming from interdisciplinary approaches that open new research fields and constitute the state of the art in some important aspects of the mind-brain relationships.

Humans possess certain unique mental traits. Self-reflection, as well as ethic and aesthetic values, is among them, constituting an essential part of what we call the human condition. The human mental machinery led our species to have a self-awareness but, at the same time, a sense of justice, willing to punish unfair actions even if the consequences of such outrages harm our own interests. Also, we appreciate searching for novelties, listening to music, viewing beautiful pictures, or living in well-designed houses. But why is this so? What is the meaning of our tendency, among other particularities, to defend and share values, to evaluate the rectitude of our actions and the beauty of our surroundings? What brain mechanisms correlate with the human capacity to maintain inner speech, or to carry out judgments of value? To what extent are they different from other primates' equivalent behaviors?In the Light of Evolution Volume VII aims to survey what has been learned about the human "mental machinery." This book is a collection of colloquium papers from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "The Human Mental Machinery," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 11-12, 2013. The colloquium brought together leading scientists who have worked on brain and mental traits. Their 16 contributions focus the objective of better understanding human brain processes, their evolution, and their eventual shared mechanisms with other animals. The articles are grouped into three primary sections: current study of the mind-brain relationships; the primate evolutionary continuity; and the human difference: from ethics to aesthetics. This book offers fresh perspectives coming from interdisciplinary approaches that open new research fields and constitute the state of the art in some important aspects of the mind-brain relationships. Table of ContentsFront MatterPart I: CURRENT STUDY OF THE MINDBRAIN RELATIONSHIPS1 Theory of Mind and Darwin's Legacy--John Searle2 Affiliation, Empathy, and the Origins of Theory of Mind--Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney3 Evolution of Consciousness: Phylogeny, Ontogeny, and Emergence from General Anesthesia--George A. Mashour and Michael T. AlkirePart II: THE PRIMATE EVOLUTIONARY CONTINUITY4 Similarity in Form and Function of the Hippocampus in Rodents, Monkeys, and Humans--Robert E. Clark and Larry R. Squire5 Evolution of Working Memory--Peter Carruthers6 The Evolution of Episodic Memory--Timothy A. Allen and Norbert J. Fortin7 Neuroethology of Primate Social Behavior--Steve W. C. Chang, Lauren J. N. Brent, Geoffrey K. Adams, Jeffrey T. Klein, John M. Pearson, Karli K. Watson, and Michael L. Platt8 Synaptogenesis and Development of Pyramidal Neuron Dendritic Morphology in the Chimpanzee Neocortex Resembles Humans--Serena Bianchi, Cheryl D. Stimpson, Tetyana Duka, Michael D. Larsen, William G. M. Janssen, Zachary Collins, Amy L. Bauernfeind, Steven J. Schapiro, Wallace B. Baze, Mark J. McArthur, William D. Hopkins, Derek E. Wildman, Leonard Lipovich, Christopher W. Kuzawa, Bob Jacobs, Patrick R. Hof, and Chet C. SherwoodPart III: THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE: FROM ETHICS TO AESTHETICS9 Making Lasting Memories: Remembering the Significant--James L. McGaugh10 Concepts and Implications of Altruism Bias and Pathological Altruism--Barbara A. Oakley11 Justice- and Fairness-Related Behaviors in Nonhuman Primates--Sarah F. Brosnan12 Powering Up with Indirect Reciprocity in a Large-Scale Field Experiment--Erez Yoeli, Moshe Hoffman, David G. Rand, and Martin A. Nowak13 From Perception to Pleasure: Music and Its Neural Substrates--Robert J. Zatorre and Valorie N. Salimpoor14 Learning Where to Look for a Hidden Target--Leanne Chukoskie, Joseph Snider, Michael C. Mozer, Richard J. Krauzlis, and Terrence J. Sejnowski15 Impact of Contour on Aesthetic Judgments and Approach-Avoidance Decisions in Architecture-Oshin Vartanian, Gorka Navarrete, Anjan Chatterjee, Lars Brorson Fich, Helmut Leder, Cristin Modroo, Marcos Nadal, Nicolai Rostrup, and Martin Skov16 Dynamics of Brain Networks in the Aesthetic Appreciation--Camilo J. Cela-Conde, Juan Garca-Prieto, Jos J. Ramasco, Claudio R. Mirasso, Ricardo Bajo, Enric Munar, Albert Flexas, Francisco del-Pozo, and Fernando MaestReferencesIndex