Where do our thoughts come from? Are they byproducts of brain activities, somehow electrically and chemically manufactured in the gray matter and then exported to the mind? Or are they distinct from and unconstrained by the biological workings of the brain? These questions intrigued seventeenth-century philosopher Rene Descartes and continue to occupy present-day scholars.
One of the most interesting and emotional debates argued by Descartes’s intellectual heirs involves the origin of thought. This version of the nature-versus-nurture question is well understood: Are we the products of our genes, or are we what we have experienced? Today, we do have some scientific answers. For example, Roger Sperry, Nobel laureate in medicine, found that the circuits of the brain are, for the most part, hard-wired during embryonic development, suggesting that each cell possesses its own chemical individuality, rendering it unmodifiable (Horowitz, 1997).
For this 5–8-page assessment, you will evaluate the connection (if any) that you see between neuroscience and altruism. In addition, you will assess how the history of cognitive and affective psychology supports your position and how understanding the interplay between these two topics can impact your professional practice.
Based on what you know and have read on the ethical brain, evaluate the connection (if any) that you see between neuroscience and altruism. In a 5–8-page paper, address the following:
By successfully completing this assignment, you will do the following: