The vicarious brain, creator of worlds

224 Pages·2017·12.768 MB·English

by  Berthoz, A

The Vicarious Brain, Creator of Worlds

THE VICARIOUS BRAIN,
Creator of Worlds
ALAIN BERTHOZ
Translated by Giselle Weiss
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 2017
Copyright © 2017 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
First printing
First published as La Vicariance: Le cerveau créateur de mondes
© Odile Jacob, 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Berthoz, A., author.
Title: The vicarious brain, creator of worlds / Alain Berthoz ; translated by
Giselle Weiss.
Other titles: Vicariance En glish
Description: Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts : Harvard University Press, 2017. |
“First published as La Vicariance: Le cerveau créateur de mondes (c) Odile
Jacob, 2013.”— Title page verso | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016022571 | ISBN 9780674088955 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Adaptability (Psy chol ogy) | Adjustment (Psy chol ogy) | Mind
and real ity. | Brain. | Identity (Psy chol ogy) | Avatars (Virtual real ity)
Classifi cation: LCC BF335 .B4713 2017 | DDC 153— dc23 LC rec ord available
at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2016022571
For Catherine

Contents
Prologue 1
Introduction 5
Part I: The Vicarious Act
1. The Brain as a Prob lem-S olver 15
2. Perceiving and Acting 24
3. The Personal Body, Self, and Identity 53
4. Vicariance and Changing Perspective 71
Part II: Ontogenesis and Plasticity
5. The Stages of Vicariance 95
6. Vicariance and Brain Plasticity 104
Part III: Vicariance and Sharing Emotions
7. Sympathy and Empathy 115
8. Vicarious Emotions 126
viii / Contents
Part IV: Education
9. Vicarious Learning 133
Epilogue 149
Notes 171
Acknowl edgments 203
Index 205
Prologue
“Only the hand that erases.” This very strong,
very Latin verb conjures up the rasura, the
gesture that erases and liberates, so that a new
text, a new story may start, so that the hand
should be free to create, without having to
wrestle with the scribbles in the margins, so that
this whiteness should be a new beginning. This
demanding radicality in search of an absolute lies
in wait for us, lies in wait for you, in each line of
the book: “ Those looking for adventure will fi nd
it—in proportion to their courage.”
— carlo ossola
This book urges us to rediscover the freedom to create using the
incredible wealth we all have available to us: that of our brain, our
body, and the broad knowledge that is more easily accessible today
than ever before. I suggest that vicariance—t he substitution of one
proc ess for another, but leading to the same goal—is one of the
fundamental mechanisms of life. Vicariance gives living organisms
a powerf ul capacity to create, innovate, and interact with fl exibility,
tolerance, and generosity. Vicariance is also the key to the remarkable