Translator: Tanya Cushman Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
I'm here to talk about why we believe in myths.
So what are myths?
Joseph Campbell, my hero, once said,
"Myths are public dreams, and dreams are private myths."
They may be illogical, but they will present something real.
Persistent myths are like recurring dreams;
they are there
because they are trying to say something important about our nature.
One of the most persistent myths that I'm fascinated with
is the seven days of creation.
This myth is influencing the beliefs of at least three great religions.
Mystics calls it
"the Tree of Life"
or "the Blueprint of the Universe,"
but what I found was
if you overlay the diagram to the functions of the human brain,
you will see a match.
This is me
being fascinated with my own discovery.
So anyway,
so according to the myth,
the prefrontal cortex is where the motivation begins,
and then the right hemisphere gathers all the information,
and it's broken down as logic on the left hemisphere.
Then the motor brain actually withholds or expresses a hypothesis for action,
which is then transferred by the thalamus region
to the rest of the brain;
it is like a conductor.
So this goes through the lens of our sense of time and space,
and then it goes to the cerebellum,
where a conclusion, or a formula for learning,
a formula for a new knowledge,
an action,
takes place,
and then is released in the brain stem for expression -
it's released to the body for expression.
So this sounds like to me, I don't know,
but it sounds to me like the scientific method.
So it may be a metaphor for the brain creating new knowledge,
which is ironic
because it came from the seven days of creation.
So it doesn't really end there
because the brain is made up of three brains
that evolved on top of each other.
The first is the reptilian brain,
and it is a brain we share with snakes, okay?
It is very, very self-protective, and it is primitive.
And on top of that, we have the paleomammalian brain,
which is in charge of caring for the young.
So after that,
we grew a brain that knows about foresight and planning.
If you could see that you have,
inside your heads, each a snake, a woman and a man.
This is actually the story of your brain.
So, it doesn't end there,
because what happens is that when you panic,
the reptilian brain sends a neurochemical through your paleomammalian brain,
which is the Eve brain,
and paralyzes your cortex from thinking.
The result is usually reflex, or worse, crimes of passion.
(Laughter)
So, you shoot your family dog for fear it's a bear,
and then you feel guilty,
and guilt is where the concept of sin comes from.
Daniel Goleman calls this process the "amygdala hijack."
So is it a metaphor for that?
There are actually many, many myths that parallels our neurological functions,
and to answer the question,
Why do we believe in myths?
I'll leave you with Joseph Campbell's words
about what the Brahmans say to express the mystery of the self:
(Sanskrit) Tat tvam asi,
which means,
"That is you."
Thank you.
(Applause)