Jim Taylor's Columns - 'Soft Edges' and 'Sharp Edges'

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Published on Sunday, May 15, 2016

Failing to rein in our reptile brain

The video camera caught him at it, shortly before Remembrance Day last November. A youngish white male in a black hoodie swiped a charity donation box off a counter. He lifted the whole box of poppies and the donation canister, glanced up at the camera, and calmly walked out the door. It wasn’t hard to catch him. The police recognized him immediately. He had several previous convictions, and at the time of the crime was out on probation. Kelowna RCMP have said that a mere five per cent of Kelowna’s population commit almost all the city’s crimes. Which makes me wonder, why can’t people learn from their mistakes? Why do people convicted of possessing child pornography go back to it on the internet? Why do drivers get behind the wheel again, even after losing their licence? Why do stalkers defy court orders and keep harassing their chosen victim?
A few generations ago, conventional wisdom blamed these misdemeanors on the devil -- an external being who made people sin. Or on the doctrine of Original Sin, which postulates that because two mythical people named Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they condemned their descendants for all time to a predilection for doing wrong. Then we abolished sin. We treated sin as an illness, whether of an individual or of society as a whole. Illnesses are treatable. Karl Menninger, founder of the famous Menninger Clinic, wrote a bestselling book, Whatever Became of Sin? But sin -- or stupidity -- persisted.
Modern neuroscience offers some more rational explanations. I know that I am oversimplifying this, but we human don’t just have a brain. We have four brains. Wrapped around each other. The most primitive brain is the reptile brain, perched right on top of the spinal column. It handles most of the involuntary muscle movements, the ones that keep us alive. It’s also home to the Fight or Flight reflex – surprised by a challenge, we tend instinctively to retaliate, or to run. Actually, psychologists say there are five F’s – fight, flight, freeze, feed, and, well, you can guess the last “F” word. Whenever those stimuli come up, our reptile brain reacts. Instantly. Human infants have a reptile brain from birth, or sooner. That’s how they breathe, move their limbs, digest food, and cry for help.
Then there’s our mammal brain, the limbic system. Mammals have this brain; reptiles do not. It has something to do with giving live birth, and then with feeding and nurturing our offspring. So it thrives on bonding, relationships, and social networks.
Ways of describing
 Four brains in one skull
“Higher” brains
The third brain, which the Buddhists call the “monkey mind” and psychologists call the neocortex, plays. It plays with facts, with alternatives, with ideas. It swings incessantly from this to that, refusing to stay put except in emergencies. It has a zero attention span -- hyperactive. All primates have this brain; most other mammals have only some elements of it. And then, finally, there’s the defining human brain, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that deals with purpose, intention, goals, and complex decision making. It doesn’t develop fully until past the teen years. The prefrontal cortex makes sense out of the manifold options served up by the monkey brain, makes deliberate choices, and controls – to a greater or lesser extent – the immediate demands of the reptile brain.
But it takes longer to process a thought through all four brains. By the time the prefrontal cortex decides that stealing this donation box is not a good idea, the reptile brain has already grabbed  it. Or started that truck in the parking lot. Or pulled the trigger on the person coming through the door. The perpetrator of a crime, or a series of crimes, can probably talk rationally about his faults. He’ll agree he shouldn’t steal that truck, take those drugs, assault that woman. But when the opportunity arises, his reptile brain takes over. By the time his prefrontal cortex tells him not to do it, it’s already too late. A few years ago, Daniel Goleman’s bestseller Emotional Intelligence argued the merits of deferred gratification. The reptile brain doesn’t defer anything. It expects -- nay, demands -- instant gratification. The reptile brain that we inherited from our evolutionary ancestors gives me a perfectly good explanation for why some humans constantly screw up. They’ve never learned to rein in their reptile reactions. That’s no excuse for their wrongdoing. Nor does it offer an instant cure. But it offers at least as good a starting point for rehabilitation as medication and exorcism. ******************************************************** Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved. To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca ********************************************************
In last week’s column, I suggested that “consent” is much more complicated that we commonly think. 
Tom Watson: “Your thought that ‘consent is a much more complicated matter than we commonly assume’ is right on. “I just finished reading ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.’ Henrietta was a poor African American woman who went into Johns Hopkins Hospital with severe abdominal pain. Doctors took cells to examine and sent her home without treatment. She died of cervical cancer. Subsequently, they used her cells for research. This was in the mid-1900s. Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of the few that would even treat non-white people, so there was no thought of the need to have consent forms signed by Henrietta. Just the mere fact of treatment implied consent. “Interestingly, consent or not, medical labs all over the world are still using Henrietta’s cells for research.”
Annette Shackleton wrote about the scam call that launched my column, “I also received calls ( as a matter of fact 4 in one day); they were recordings and I did not respond as they request.  I did, however, receive a call the following day asking for me by name (this was not a recording) and he said "I have a warrant for your arrest." “My response was to laugh, and I said "When are you coming for me?" He then said "Do you think this is a joke?" This went back and forth until he said "You didn't answer my question." To which my response was, "And you didn't answer my question, so I am hanging up and calling the RCMP.” I did and they told me just to hang up. I 
Too late!
YOUR TURN
have heard nothing more from them. “I did however receive a recorded message from the IRS [in the U.S.]. I did not respond to their call either. ”
Good on you for recognizing this as a scam,” wrote Helen Arnott. She got similar calls. “Unbelievable. The final affirmation for me was the use of the word ‘attorney’. I am more used to the term ‘lawyer’ in this country. I hope sincerely that no one was taken in. “As for me, I receive emails saying that CRA wants to reimburse me a certain amount, and would I please click on a certain link to accept and confirm my identity -- completely false and totally ridiculous. “Good and timely subject matter, coming just after the deadline for reporting one's income.”
I moved in the column from consent about scamming to consent for death. Isabel Gibson responded, “By asking whether being kept alive should require our active consent, you raise an interesting point about the assumed default position. “I don't quote or live by Scripture, but ‘I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses; therefore, choose life that you and your descendants might live’ comes to mind in this context. But I don't think it was meant to delineate a literal choice between life and death -- we've come a long way, medically at least, since those days, and not all of it good. “If my life ever becomes a curse, and death a blessing, I hope I'll be able to choose the blessing…How we legislate that, safely, is a hard question. At least we're asking it.”
Helen Reid also commented on the aspect of assisted death: “Assisted suicide touches many issues. Those of us who are older often fear becoming a burden to those who care for us. If this option becomes legally possible, it will add to the guilt of those who choose to allow God's timing, not our own. I fear that the value of a life will be measured by its productivity rather than seen as a gift of value in its self. See Jean Vanier for the value of lives many others would deem appropriate for this procedure.”
Donna Campbell and Mary Elford both felt confused by my reference to a Power of Attorney becoming invalid as soon as the grantor is no longer capable of revoking it. “Isn’t that the whole point of getting a Power of Attorney?” they asked, in separate letters. I tried to clarify, but mainly my advice was to consult a lawyer or notary. If you do get a Power of Attorney, you want to be sure that it is an “Enduring Power…” (or whatever the correct legal term is in your region) that can continue even if the grantor becomes incompetent. Don’t be satisfied with a drug-store do-ityourself template. 
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TECHNICAL STUFF
This column comes to you using the electronic facilities of Woodlakebooks.com.        If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the “Reply” button.        To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the address above. Or subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message) to sharpedges-subscribe@quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at sharpedgesunsubscribe@quixotic.ca.        You can access several years of archived columns at http://edges.Canadahomepage.net.        I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly, at the address above, or send a blank e-mail to softedgessubscribe@quixotic.ca
PROMOTION STUFF…
 Ralph Milton has a new project, called Sing Hallelujah – the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.com Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up,  http://www.hymnsight.ca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)  Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>  Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com  Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town – not particularly religious, but fun; alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.  Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” – ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatso@gmail.com or twatson@sentex.net
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Author: Jim Taylor

Categories: Sharp Edges

Tags: reptile brain

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