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gloudon's picture

brain = behavior?

 

   So far there have been a lot of comments posted about how the brain equals behavior.  Most of them seem to be agreeing with this statement, and I too mostly agree with it.  In class we talked about behavior being a response to an internal or external stimulus.  So, if you have a kidney stone, and it hurts because it is blocking your kidney, and you are curled up in a ball in pain.  The kidney could be easily looked at as the stimulus.  Or, is it your kidney that is causing the behavior, and the brain is merely relaying the information? This is the question that is preventing me from completely agreeing with brain = behavior.  If the kidney's lack of function is the stimulus, and the brain is relaying the message to your body that you are in pain, then does the brain equal behavior?  Or is the brain center for relaying messages?  Then does stimulus equal behavior?  

   However, if you think of a none-physical stimulus, such as thinking about a bad grade, there is nothing but the brain to attribute your angry behavior.  In this case, there is no visual, auditory, or tactile stimulus.  You are simply remembering feelings you had.  Where else would these thoughts and feelings come from besides the brain?  So can the brain be its own stimulus?  

Or should we say that stimulus=brain=behavior?

 

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