Centrally Controlled Organisms
49
innovation is closely connected with the emergence of nervous systems in
animals, and is the primary reason that nervous systems evolved.
In complex creatures such as ourselves, both autonomous and central control
systems are to be found. We have autonomic functions which include control
of respiration, cardiac regulation, and homeostasis. Each control mechanism
has a specified function and is dedicated to the care of one bodily organ or
system: Its “loyalty” is to the preservation of that one system.
In contrast, a central control system is dedicated to the welfare and preservation of the organism as a whole—as a unified single being. It identifies itself
with the physical entity consisting of a whole body with its limbs and articulation. Central control is made possible owing to the existence of a mental
model of all the articulated parts of the animal, perceived simultaneously. As
a result of this, the limbs can be made to move in a coordinated fashion under
the guidance of integrated plans.
Indeed, you may have noticed that the behavior of even the smallest and
simplest creature appears to have singleness of purpose. Moreover, the articulation of its entire body—its torso and all its jointed appendages—move in an
absolutely coordinated fashion to carry out its purpose. It suffices to look at
a spider maneuvering in its web to pull in a fly. The example of the spider is
a prototype of what a centrally controlled creature is. Even if a creature does
not have what we call a mind, it identifies itself with its body as an articulated
whole, and its activity appears to be guided by a global (often unconscious)
plan.
The bedrock foundation of every centrally controlled organism is a primordial Gestalt image, or schema, of its entire body, present to it simultaneously.
Every motion the animal makes is referred to this Gestalt schema, in which
its body is revealed to it as a connected and indivisible whole. The schema,
of course, is not visual, but rather, it is visceral: The animal feels every jointed
part of its body and the motions it can undergo. It feels itself to be one and
undivided.
If it were not for a whole-body Gestalt, an animate creature could never be
operationally a single entity. In the history of life, the internal body image of
animals must have evolved in tandem with the nervous system, for the nervous
system could not carry out its intended functions if a comprehensive Gestalt
of the body weren’t available to it.
In a book entitled Motor Cognition, the physiologist Marc Jeannerod
describes the formation of action plans in the brain. He has found that complex creatures have motor imagery and motor representations which are the
foundation of all action. Before an action is executed, a precise delineation of
the whole sequence of body movements is present in one mental picture, so
49
innovation is closely connected with the emergence of nervous systems in
animals, and is the primary reason that nervous systems evolved.
In complex creatures such as ourselves, both autonomous and central control
systems are to be found. We have autonomic functions which include control
of respiration, cardiac regulation, and homeostasis. Each control mechanism
has a specified function and is dedicated to the care of one bodily organ or
system: Its “loyalty” is to the preservation of that one system.
In contrast, a central control system is dedicated to the welfare and preservation of the organism as a whole—as a unified single being. It identifies itself
with the physical entity consisting of a whole body with its limbs and articulation. Central control is made possible owing to the existence of a mental
model of all the articulated parts of the animal, perceived simultaneously. As
a result of this, the limbs can be made to move in a coordinated fashion under
the guidance of integrated plans.
Indeed, you may have noticed that the behavior of even the smallest and
simplest creature appears to have singleness of purpose. Moreover, the articulation of its entire body—its torso and all its jointed appendages—move in an
absolutely coordinated fashion to carry out its purpose. It suffices to look at
a spider maneuvering in its web to pull in a fly. The example of the spider is
a prototype of what a centrally controlled creature is. Even if a creature does
not have what we call a mind, it identifies itself with its body as an articulated
whole, and its activity appears to be guided by a global (often unconscious)
plan.
The bedrock foundation of every centrally controlled organism is a primordial Gestalt image, or schema, of its entire body, present to it simultaneously.
Every motion the animal makes is referred to this Gestalt schema, in which
its body is revealed to it as a connected and indivisible whole. The schema,
of course, is not visual, but rather, it is visceral: The animal feels every jointed
part of its body and the motions it can undergo. It feels itself to be one and
undivided.
If it were not for a whole-body Gestalt, an animate creature could never be
operationally a single entity. In the history of life, the internal body image of
animals must have evolved in tandem with the nervous system, for the nervous
system could not carry out its intended functions if a comprehensive Gestalt
of the body weren’t available to it.
In a book entitled Motor Cognition, the physiologist Marc Jeannerod
describes the formation of action plans in the brain. He has found that complex creatures have motor imagery and motor representations which are the
foundation of all action. Before an action is executed, a precise delineation of
the whole sequence of body movements is present in one mental picture, so