Do we value our brains enough?

Everything we do, experience or think about begins with our brains. Studying the most complex organ that we have, neuroscience can pertain to all aspects of our lives. We can find reasons to why we feel more connected to some things and why we choose to avoid others. While we think we control our brain, perhaps the brain is what controls us. Maybe, the brain that formulates our questions about life is what also answers them. The brain can be our ultimate source to define humanity and what it means to be human.

As we use our brains to explore many parts of our world, we also survey ourselves as humans. For example, Joe Vukov and his colleagues try to find a definition for what it means to be a person by using the study of neuroscience. In their article, “Personhood and Neuroscience: Naturalizing or Nihilating?" the researchers tried to understand and define personhood by researching the human thought system (Farah et al. 2007). The researchers analyze different perspectives from thinkers in the past like Locke, Kant, and Dennet to discuss that many studies thought that there is a concept of person but didn’t realize that cognitive neuroscience is what creates this concept. The researchers find that ultimately, each of our brains makes its own decisions and criteria as to what personhood really means and how it controls our lives (Farah et al. 2007). 

Vukov and colleagues believe that our brains control us. That is why we can study our brains to understand many other things we choose to do in our lives. For example, our brains can define our desires in our lives and why many choose to practice and rely on religion. Similarly, in the article, “The neuroscience of religious and spiritual experience,” Anna Sandoui suggests that the brain can help us understand what and why we think about spirituality (Sandoui 2018). The article states that there is even a special branch of neuroscience for this type of study, called “neurotheology” (Sandoui 2018). The author explains that many researchers in this field hypothesize that because our prefrontal cortex is what controls our decision-making, practicing and relying on religion helps our brain not have to make many big decisions in our lives.

Ultimately, we need to understand that our brains have more worth than we give them. The two types of research show us that we can explore and investigate all kinds of information with our brains. The study of neuroscience is an emerging field, and will grow even more, the more we try to find answers to our many questions. In conclusion, we just need to make the decision to give more value to our brains. Of course, this isn’t possible without the help of our brains.

References:

Sandoiu, A. (2018, July 20). The neuroscience of religious and spiritual experience. Medical News Today. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322539 

Farah, Martha J., Heberlein, Andrea S. (2007). Personhood and Neuroscience: Naturalizing or Nihilating? The American Journal of Bioethics, 7:1, 37-48, DOI: 10.1080/15265160601064199, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15265160601064199