Reply to comment

One of the reasons why I had a hard time agreeing with Dickinson’s perspective that the brain constructs all reality was that people seem to agree on a lot of reality.  Humans seem to “construct” a lot of the same realities, especially physical realities like the chair example. It seems unlikely that we would be able to construct such similar things when our brains are known to be so unique.
We learned in class that the architectural differences of neurons are what produce different parts of the nervous system and different, individualistic brains. We also discussed how “information” could shape the brain and influence the organization and properties of neurons. So I do think that social and cultural influences or information shape the brains of groups of people. When people adapt a certain set of morals or certain way of thinking, they must also induce change in their neuron organization. This said, I do not think there is one specific neuron organization that leads to a thought. I think a thought can be processed or created through several different pathways, using several different neurons. The same output can be created from different inputs and different input processing pathways. So while cultures/society/religion and other large influential forces can impact how people think and how their neurons are organized, I don’t think this means that people adapt the same neuron architecture. People’s unique brain structures can be altered by these external influences to encompass the thoughts and beliefs promoted by  their larger social environment.