Neuroscience
“We do not weep because we are sad; we are sad because we weep.” William James, Principles of Psychology, 1890 James proposed this in 1890 and it drew heavy criticism, notably from Walter Cannon, though the idea never fully disappeared. It took another century of neuroscience, and the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett, to document […]
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” , William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2, c. 1600 Shakespeare was writing about perception and moral relativism. He was also, without the vocabulary for it, describing a physiological mechanism that science would take 400 years to document precisely. The thought that labels
“I think, therefore I am.” , René Descartes, Discourse on the Method, 1637 Descartes was certain of one thing: the thought itself proved his existence. What he could not account for, and what no philosopher could until the 20th century, was what was generating the thought in the first place. He assumed he was the
Breathing is not a calming technique. It’s a brain control mechanism. The prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for decision-making, impulse control, and executive function, is directly modulated by respiratory rhythm. When you breathe fast, prefrontal activity decreases. When you breathe slowly, it increases. You are literally thinking better or worse based on how you breathe.
You use your memory constantly. You recall where you parked. You recognize faces. You speak sentences. But ask most people what a memory is, and they default to metaphors. Filing cabinets. Hard drives. Storage boxes in the attic. None of which are accurate. A memory isn’t stored in one place. It’s a pattern your brain recreates.