1. The body as a communication system with the environment
According to the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the function creates the organ. This means that variations in environmental conditions cause changes in the vital functions of living beings, which means that some organs develop and others atrophy. That is, the Modifications of our organism are the result of adaptation to information coming from our exteriorto which the body reacts to guarantee our survival.
For example, the evolution of the begins when they function as centers of olfactory reception. The hemispheres increased in size, becoming centers of association, integration, and elaboration of the olfactory stimuli received from abroad. The body is always in communication with the environment, this communication is essential for health.
2. Emotions are the vehicle used by the unconscious to adapt to the environment
Everything we feel, each emotion, produces a specific chemical substance that corresponds to the information that we perceive from the world, and that circulates through our body and is captured by the receptors of each cell, producing a change in it.
The body reacts to emotion with a range of physical changes. From an increase in heart rate and shortness of breath, to weakness in the legs, trembling lips or goosebumps, among others. Once the body has reacted, the brain assimilates the changes and translates them into the language of emotions, and that’s when we feel them. After that we can rationalize what happens and make a conscious, thoughtful decision.
3. The relationship between the unconscious and the conscious is found in the brain
The physical sensations that accompany emotions are processed by the neocortex, which gives them a rational explanation that is expressed in the form of thoughts and feelings. In humans, the experience of an unconscious emotion generally involves a set of cognitions, attitudes and about the world, which we use to assess a specific situation and, therefore, influence the way in which said situation is perceived. As explained by Dr. Juan Moisés de la Serna, our body does not react directly to changes in the environment, but to the internal perception we have of them.
The concepts we use to represent an event are the most basic units of all forms of human knowledge. They are , through which we understand the experiences that emerge from the interaction with our environment. We call this internal representation, at the brain level, a connectome, which is a map of the connections between and that are personal and non-transferable, like a fingerprint. Each person has their own way of interpreting their environment, which leads to an adaptation of the organism that is related to both the environment and the perception we make of it.
Evolution is a process that arises from the relationship between the environment, our body and the interpretation we make of both. By modifying our communication with the world and with ourselves, we change ourselves and our universe.
“The bodily changes directly follow the perception of the triggering event (…) our sensation of those changes as they occur is the emotion.”
William James.
If you liked it, share it