Brain Behavior

Much of contemporary behavioral or cognitive neuroscience is concerned with discovering the neural basis of psychological processes such as attention, cognition, consciousness, perception, and memory. In sharp divergence from this field, An Odyssey Through the Brain, Behavior and the Mind can be regarded as an elaborate demonstration that the large scale features of brain electrical activity are related to sensory and motor processes in various ways but are not organised in accordance with conventional psychological concepts. It is argued that much of the traditional lore concerning the mind is based on prescientific philosophical assumptions and has little relevance to brain function.

Webster's dictionary defines ethics as "a group of moral principles or set of values … governing the behavior of an individual or a profession." A moment's reflection reminds one that the definition cames inherent anthropological limits: Most ethical principles represent tribal rules, not guidelines universally deduced by the species as being to their advantage. By no means can we prove that Fiji Islanders necessarily agree with Kant's categorical imperatives. Furthermore, even within our Western tribes, subcultures differ vigorously in some aspects of their ethics. Witness the divisions that separate the principles of the Moral Majority from what many academics believe.