The brain harbors our deepest sense of purpose and meaning in these subcortical regions-areas connected poorly to the verbal ar eas of the neocortex, but richly to the gut. We know our values by first getting a visceral sense of what feels right and what does not, then articulating those feelings for ourselves.
Self-awareness, then, represents an essential focus, one that at tunes us to the subtle murmurs within that can help guide our way through life. And, as we shall see, this inner radar holds the key to managing what we do-and just as important, what we don't do. This internal control mechanism makes all the difference between a life well lived and one that falters.
SHE'S HAPPY AND SHE KNOWS IT
The scientific test for self-awareness in animals is, in theory, sim ple: put a mark on their face, show them a mirror, and observe whether their actions indicate they realize that the face with the mark over there reflects their own.
Actually doing such a test for self-awareness in elephants is not so simple. For starters, you need to build an elephant-proof mirror. Try an eight-foot-by-eight-foot acrylic reflecting surface glued to plywood supported by steel framing, and bolted to the concrete wall of an elephant enclosure.
That's what researchers did at the Bronx Zoo, where Happy, a thirty-four-year-old Asian elephant, lives with her two hulking friends, Maxine and Patty. The researchers let the elephants get used to the mirrors for a few days. Then they put a large white X on the head of one or another of the elephants to see if she would realize she had a mark there-an indication of self-recognition.
The brain harbors our deepest sense of purpose and meaning in these subcortical regions-areas connected poorly to the verbal ar eas of the neocortex, but richly to the gut. We know our values by first getting a visceral sense of what feels right and what does not, then articulating those feelings for ourselves.Self-awareness, then, represents an essential focus, one that at tunes us to the subtle murmurs within that can help guide our way through life. And, as we shall see, this inner radar holds the key to managing what we do-and just as important, what we don't do. This internal control mechanism makes all the difference between a life well lived and one that falters.SHE'S HAPPY AND SHE KNOWS ITThe scientific test for self-awareness in animals is, in theory, sim ple: put a mark on their face, show them a mirror, and observe whether their actions indicate they realize that the face with the mark over there reflects their own.Actually doing such a test for self-awareness in elephants is not so simple. For starters, you need to build an elephant-proof mirror. Try an eight-foot-by-eight-foot acrylic reflecting surface glued to plywood supported by steel framing, and bolted to the concrete wall of an elephant enclosure.That's what researchers did at the Bronx Zoo, where Happy, a thirty-four-year-old Asian elephant, lives with her two hulking friends, Maxine and Patty. The researchers let the elephants get used to the mirrors for a few days. Then they put a large white X on the head of one or another of the elephants to see if she would realize she had a mark there-an indication of self-recognition.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
