This chapter (3) gave a quick sketch of why the best explanation of mental processes such as perception, memory, learning, and drug experiences is that they are processes of the brain.
Through Chapter 4, in realms such as everyday perception and theories in the natural sciences, our brains frequently succeed in producing such systems that approximate how the world really is. For perception, the reason for this success is evolutionary, in that human perceptual systems and their forerunners in primates and other predecessors underwent selection for organisms that function well in their environments.
The explanation for scientific success is much more cultural, as powerful methods such as controlled experimentation, statistical inference, and computer modeling have been devised only in recent centuries. With such methods, it becomes possible to develop knowledge that goes well beyond perception without succumbing to supernatural fantasies.
However, to possess wisdom and appreciate the meaning of life, it is not sufficient simply to know reality. You need to know what aspects of reality matter, and why they matter. Wisdom without knowledge is empty, but knowledge without wisdom is blind.
The capacities of brains to gain knowledge by perception and inference to the best explanation are required for the acquisition of wisdom, but also required are capacities for assigning positive and negative values to what is represented, including aspects of love, work, and play. We can understand this more deeply by investigating how brains have emotions.