We do not have one brain, in fact, we have three brains, stacked on top of each other, in order they have evolved. The oldest and most primitive of the brains is the basal brain, the R-complex as coined by MacLean, who first proposed the model of the “triune brain”.
The Reptile Brain consist of the brain stem and the cerebellum, and it remains basically unchanged since it first appeared in reptiles. It’s main “concern” is to keep us alive and multiply and it is "filled with ancestral memories" of our lizard and snake ancestors. It does not “think”, it does not have emotions, it only “acts in a cold, and totally uncalculated way, it prefers fight over fleeing, sex over love, kill over being killed.
It is mechanical, and ritualistic, keeps repeating the same behaviors over and over, and it is incapable of learning from past mistakes. It controls our very basic, anatomic survival functions, such as breathing and heartbeat, and therefore it is active even in deep sleep. It acts like a “bodyguard”; all muscle, no brain”, aggressive, territorial, rigid, obsessive, compulsive, ritualistic and paranoid. not someone you would bring home to introduce to Mom, nor someone you would like to move in and start a relationship with, but very handy to have in a dark alley walking you to your car after closing hour at the local watering hole.
The reptile brain tends to be blamed for every human behavior that is "bad"; it is savage, stubborn, agressive and certanly not discerning. It would be tempting to think, that getting rid of, or at least gaining total control of this brain by our "higher brains and consciousness" would be a good way to go to create personal and universal happiness, love, peace and contentment.
Not so fast. There are situations in this world, when acting first and thinking later are the right way to go. Imagine, that there is an object (say, a rock) hurling through space at high speed. Your reptile brain does not stop to "think", to "feel", but it makes you jump out the way, or at least, move your head, before you can even think "WTF?!" (What are The Facts?!)
There are situations, where being paranoid is a good thing. If I PERCEIVE a large, potentionally dangerous object coming straight toward my head, I don't want to stop and analize the facts, I don't want to know, if it is real,is it an optical illusion, is it a flicker of my imagination, I don't want to ponder the meaning of life and death, I rather stay alive, I dont' want to be zen, and I do not want not to judge, I don't want excude loving kindness to the damn rock, I want out of the way.
Although it might appear to be rather dull, stupid, out of control and uncivilized, our reptile brain is in control and is responsible for keeping us alive, and if it was not so good at it, we would have never had the opportunity to evolve, we would be, at best still Komodo Dragons, at worst, extinct dinosaurs.
When it is not fighting, the Reptile Brain acts as head of Maintenance and Housekeeping. Some of us have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time, never mind if we had to consciously move every muscle and think of each next step, never mind having to keep all other systems going, from circulation to digestion, imagine we would have to think and feel through every breath and every hearbeat. In fact, of all the brains, this brain never stops! It is fully active, even when we sleep.
Why, we could not walk, eat, have sex, or do any of the more civilized, beautiful and sensible things we do, if it was not for the Reptile Brain keeping us alive and keep moving.
The Reptile Brain does this all and more, without thinking, without feeling, and until we come up with a better, more reliable system, I am voting for keeping the Lizzard Bodyguard.
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