Humans are a quick blip in the long history of species. The factors that truly make humans unique: language, autonoesis, complex emotions. The dangers of anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism should always be taken into consideration. Fitness means adapting to the environment. Over the course of the last century, we've arguably accomplished the opposite.

Unique species

Our survival instinct came before any reasoning or behavioral aspects.The human body is firstly a tool of survival, with rationalizing and the 'mind' perspectives arriving much later.

Survival before Behaviour

We normally assume that certain sections of the brain carry out a specific set of tasks. This is fair to believe but is not entirely accurate.The science to scan brain activity is currently in its infancy. Brain scans track blood flow; that does not mean specific functions are limited to that region.

Neuroscience is a new science

Humans believe they are separate from the environment, which is a wrong presumption.Environmental and climate change and its imminent effects on humans are proof that we are not separate or insulated from our surroundings.

Humans and the environment

Pain, even the chronic variety is subjective and can be annulled. There are no specific receptive areas for different emotions like fear, joy, and anger. By contrast, certain receptors are activated when experiencing pain or pleasure, yet even those are subjective.

A state of mind

In his new book, The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Our Conscious Brains, neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux assigns himself the simple tasks of explaining how consciousness developed and redefining how we create and experience emotions.Obviously, I'm being facetious....