Jyera said:
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So I may convienently state that the reason "why we think", is to ensure survival.
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I think many of the theory has it's merit.
However, more talk means more misintepretation.
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I would think it is useful for us to expose their CORE MERIT in as simply as possible.
Can any of the theory be distilled down to it's essence, AND be turned into a repeatable experiment?
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Eg. How to prove importance of homeostasis?
Does removal of hypothalamus, "proves" homeostasis, by showing that a person no longer seek to bring himself back to the state of "homeostasis."
First, without the hypothalamus, the brain is dead. It is the single most important part of the brain. Evolution has buried the hypothalamus deep in brain tissue, high on the brain stem, far from bone on all sides, packed by all other brain parts. Evolution protects it, by sheer location and packing, above all other parts of the brain. It is critical for life.
But let's return to your key point: "Can any of the theory be distilled down to it's essence, AND be turned into a repeatable experiment?" I believe so. But you, and the others, will have to help in the clarification.
BACKGROUND: We are immersed in dynamic and complex world which continues to evolve in complexity and dynamism. (Heraclitus, Schrodinger, Kauffman)
EVOLUTION: To survive, we must constantly adapt to the ever-changing environment. (Darwin/Spencer, Shrodinger, Kauffman, others)
LIFE: Life is an array of feelings running from bad to good, from misery to ecstacy. Life is dynamic, 3-D feelings. (Maslow, Plutchik, Johnston, Keeran)
LIFE & HOMEOSTASIS: Perfect homeostasis is the ultimate feeling of life. Ecstacy, a sense of fulfillment, and peace of mind are all close to homeostasis. (Sleeping may be the closest to homeostasis.) The further away you go from homeostasis, the more stress you endure, and the worse you feel. With stress, your body begins malfunctioning, and it eventually leads to destruction and death. (Cannon, and others)
PERSONAL CHALLENGE: Do you want to feel miserable or ecstatic? Whatever your feelings are now, do you want to keep them the same or feel even better? Or do you miss feeling bad? Do you want to feel more sickness and pain? Most people choose feeling good or even feeling better. (Aristotle, Maslow, and others)
THINKING: Thinking is plotting a course to your goal of feeling better or worse, success or failure, happiness or stress, life or death. This primarily includes prioritizing (choosing), planning (adapting), and modeling.
TYPES OF THINKING: Fundamentally, there are two: SEEK and AVOID (also called approach and avoidance). You plot and plan in order to gain something, achieve something. You SEEK it. Similarly, you plot and plan to avoid or destroy other things. (Skinner, Plutchick, McCelland, and many others)
So, "can any of the theory be distilled down to it's essence, AND be turned into a repeatable experiment?"
Let's try this:
We constantly strive to feel as good as possible and avoid whatever makes us feel bad. (Aristotle, Darwin, Cannon, Maslow, Johnston, Henriques, Keeran, many others)
Technically, we seek homeostasis (a balanced state) and avoid thermodynamical equillibrium (a state of chaos). (Duffy, Schrodinger, Kauffman, Henriques, Keeran, others)
