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Chapter 1
The Nature of the Human Mind
No species possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history... The human mind is a device for survival and reproduction, and reason is just one of its various techniques.
- Edward O. Wilson (1929- ) On Earth, man occupies a peculiar position that sets him apart him from all other
entities in our planet. While all the other things – animate or inanimate, living or non- living – behave according to regular patterns to balance nature, man seems to enjoy – within definite limits – a small amount of freedom. Man controls his way of living, speaks his own language, perceives and learns great amount of knowledge, manages his emotions, and deals properly with problems he faces. All of which is unique to man only. There is, in fact, within the infinite expanse of the universe a small field in which man's conscious conduct can change the course of events.
It is this fact that causes man to distinguish between an external world subject to unstoppable and endless necessity, and his human faculty of thinking, cognizing, and acting. In Philosophy, mind or reason is contrasted with matter, something that is extended in space and persists through time. Fully aware of the fact that his own body is subject to the same forces that determine all other things and beings, man attributes his ability to think, to will and to act to an invisible and intangible, yet powerful, factor he calls his mind.
The mind, including the processes it carries out such as thinking, learning, memorizing, remembering, and the likes, is one characteristic that distinguishes man from any