"As the brain gets more complex in the womb, then, like a dimmer switch, consciousness gradually grows and burgeons until, of course, in adulthood it reaches its particular pinnacles or depths."
— Greenfield, Susan (b. 1950)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London and New York
Publisher
Routledge
Date
1999
Metaphor
"As the brain gets more complex in the womb, then, like a dimmer switch, consciousness gradually grows and burgeons until, of course, in adulthood it reaches its particular pinnacles or depths."
Metaphor in Context
No scenario seems satisfactory. One possibility, that during the birth process consciousness occurs, is hard to imagine. The actual brain during birth does not undergo any very clear difference, before and after, from when it is in the womb to becoming a few minutes old as an independent entity. Alternatively, are we going to say that consciousness comes during development? I doubt very much if anyone could claim that from the first few months of life that children were not conscious at all. Neither scenario is really acceptable. However, if consciousness is continuous and variable, then one can immediately see a way forward. As the brain gets more complex in the womb, then, like a dimmer switch, consciousness gradually grows and burgeons until, of course, in adulthood it reaches its particular pinnacles or depths.
(p. 111)
(p. 111)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Susan Greenfield, “Soul, Brain, and Mind†in From Soul to Self, ed. M. James Crabbe (Routledge: London and New York, 1999), 108-125.
Date of Entry
02/22/2012
