Consciousness, Culture, and the Brain
Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture February 4, 2020 Roger Bartra
Human consciousness arises not only from brain activity but also from an external network of symbols, termed the exocerebrum. This system comprises artificial cultural prostheses—such as speech, symbols, music, dance, painting, and external memories from writing to the Internet—that substitute for cerebral functions the brain cannot perform biologically alone. The brain cannot process symbols without this external system. The authors argue for a continuous spectrum between brain and exocerebrum, neuronal circuits and cultural prostheses, with no dividing line needed.