Brain Civil War

It's complicated, but regions of the brain do different things for us. The Amygdala (we have two of them) regulate our emotions. The Cerebrum is where our perception, imagination, thought, judgment, and decision occur. The Amygdala is part of our primitive brain, while the Cerebrum is the latest addition to our brains, according to the thinking of evolution. The Cerebrum occupies 85% of the brain, while the Amygdala are the size of almonds.

The Amygdala tells us what to do based on our environment. We're happy, sad, afraid, excited - emotional - because our Amygdala tells us to be. Look at a child and you will see the operation of the Amygdala in full force. When the child is happy, you know it. When sad, you know it. Everything goes directly from Amygdala into action. That's because the Cerebrum isn't yet trained to intervene.

Look at what adults can do. No matter the situation, they can do things like "stick to their guns". Soldiers may be terrified, but good ones will still perform their duty. A good parent may be tired and unhappy, but they will still give their child their attention.

Why do we do these things? Because we have learned that there is greater value in doing what is right for everyone concerned than just in reacting to what our bodies are telling us to do. Some people don't receive such training and remain dominated by their emotions. Their Amygdala is running unchecked. Their Cerebrum, the region constituting the vast majority of our brains, hasn't been trained to deal with the wild swings of the Amygdala, those little almonds of brain matter.

Chapter 13 of the first book of Corinthians contains an oft-quoted verse:

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

This is classic brain civil war, with St. Paul telling us that when we become adults we have set aside reflexively instinctive actions, to replace them with well-considered actions that serve a higher, virtuous purpose. Corinthians was written around 54 A.D., and you can be sure that communities have understood the need for people to become more than instinctive beasts for thousands of years before that. Civilization just doesn't happen if people remain bestial in their behavior.

The Catholic faith describes cardinal virtues and cardinal sins. The cardinal virtues are those of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Now those are the sorts of things that we wish other people would practice. But they're a lot of work. The cardinal sins are much more fun. They are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony and lust. Those are the backbone of American culture. If you doubt this, look at where and why Americans spend their money.

The sins are our Amygdala talking. The virtues are what you get with a properly-trained Cerebrum.

Can we improperly train a mind? Sure. Look at any number of people who don't just react emotionally and commit cardinal sins, but actually plan ahead to commit them. Terrorists are planning acts of wrath. Bank robbers are planning acts of greed. The pornography industry does the same for acts of lust. Stalin, Hitler, and many more. These are examples of improperly trained Cerebrums. These people are acting against the cardinal virtues. Those virtues are really only practical if the Cerebrum is trained properly.

What we face is a set of instincts that often drive us towards cardinal sins, when what we need is to be trained to pursue cardinal virtues. This is the ultimate theme for most articles posted to Opinion Dump; believe that there is rightness and wrongness inherent to actions, and that by applying one's self to discovering rightness and wrongness, the whole world becomes a better place.

Unfortunately, as a society we talk as children, think as children and reason as children.

Virtue can win the civil war of your mind. Put aside childish things.