Life at the Edge: Complicators and Simplifiers in Human Nature

The following has been posted on the HBES list serve and on the Paleopsych list serve; it has also been sent directly to Ed Wilson and Stu Kauffman.
================
Life at the Edge: Complicators and Simplifiers in Human Nature

Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Across Species Comparisons and Psychopathology, June 9, 2000, Amherst, MA.

"Phase transition," "chaos," and "stasis" apply broadly in physics and offer a platform in biology for Darwinian natural and sexual selection. Phase transition, chaos, and stasis also underlie human social behavior,our strategies of selfishness and cooperation, and our neuropsychological executive functions. A human developmental course is sketched for males and females, a course steered --- within a phase transition --- by genes, neuropsychological executive functions, family, and culture. Furthermore,it is possible to predict altruism and selfishness on the basis of physical systems and to derive a requirement that biological mechanisms will exist to assure their operation. The strategies of "simplify" and "complicate" apply to human emotional responses, hierarchy management, and even to a free will. These concepts, when combined with evolutionary theory, allow a coherent approach to the diagnosis and treatment of emotional disorders,one that could replace the current model. Clinical and cross cultural studies are used to illustrate these points.

James Brody, Ph.D.
jbrody@compuserve.com

Replies:

From Physics to Psychotherapy: Phase Transitions and Adaptations, Diagnosis and Treatment*, by James Brody, 10/18/00

| Behavior OnLine Home Page | Disclaimer |

Copyright © 1996-2004 Behavior OnLine, Inc. All rights reserved.