philosophy continued

"This search for meaning and coherence is profoundly challenged by our knowledge of our own mortality. Like an existentialst trickster, evolution has instilled in us the deep need to search for meaning in a universe that ultimately may be devoid of any. Existence seems to be a problem only for us humans, growing out of our capacity for reflection and our compulsion for coherence. This may be why humans have created some one hundred thousand religions over the course of history; in every society that has ever existed.

"Despite the contradictions to happiness that evolution appears to have built into us, evolution has also built in a remarkable resilience. Even in the bleakest situations of profound misfortune, when hope appears lost, humans nonetheless find a way to continue on, frequently triumphantly. This again is the selective pressure of evolution at work, for those ancestors who could carry on in the face of extreme adversity were rewarded in the genetic lottery of procreation. In this light, happiness may not only be an attainable goal, but an evolutionary imperative."

-Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are - Steven Quartz, PhD and Terrence Sejnowski, PhD

i've almost finished reading this book, and i really like it. it doesn't go into any hard core molecular biology of the brain, but it's more cognitive evolution. they talk a lot about the different kinds of pressures that were involved in creating the brain of modern man, the interplay between genetics and the environment. very interesting. and it was a good review of my past cognitive psychology classes that i had forgotten. the book also includes an interesting section on serotonin signaling in the brain, which i found particularly interesting in light of my current research on g protein signaling and the regulation of serotonin levels in the neurons of c elegans.

i'm going to finish the book and then read all the papers for cell bio seminar. that should be terribly exciting. if anyone is interested in borrowing this book, let me know.