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SUMMARY:How culture transformed the human brain --- Dr. John Parrington\, 
 University of Oxford - Associate Professor John Parrington (Department of 
 Pharmacology\, University of Oxford)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20210510T183000
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20210510T193000
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/228b6442-14ed-4bdc-9c50-c3e5ed0087e0/
DESCRIPTION:The event will be live-streamed on the Society's YouTube chann
 el\, Facebook page\, and Twitter Account. No registration required. \n\nDo
 es any other animal experience the richness of our inner lives-our ability
  to conceptualise\, to plan\, to dream\, to create imaginary worlds? Dr Jo
 hn Parrington answers no\, and considers how we came to be so different\, 
 even from our nearest primate relatives. In his new book Mind Shift: How c
 ulture transformed the human brain\, he argues that a ‘mind shift’ occ
 urred during our evolution\, in which tool use and especially the inventio
 n of language transformed our brains\, which not only became larger\, but 
 subtly altered in their structure and function\, making them more ‘plast
 ic’ and open to external influences. Words can be used for inner dialogu
 e too\, leading to the emergence of a sense of self\, of conscious awarene
 ss\, as a product of brain biology and social interaction. An outpouring o
 f art\, music\, literature\, science\, and technology has been the result-
 but also suffering\, delusions\, and despair when this symphonic brain act
 ivity goes wrong. Parrington considers the evidence for this language-and 
 culture-driven view of human consciousness\, and its implications for our 
 mental health.\n\nJohn Parrington is an Associate Professor in Molecular a
 nd Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Oxford\, and a Tutorial Fell
 ow in Medicine at Worcester College\, Oxford. He is the author of Mind Shi
 ft (OUP\, 2021)\, The Deeper Genome (OUP\, 2015)\, and Redesigning Life (O
 UP\, 2016)\, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in science 
 journals. He has extensive experience writing popular science\, having pub
 lished articles in The Guardian\, New Scientist\, Chemistry World\, and Th
 e Biologist. \n\nSpeakers:\nAssociate Professor John Parrington (Departmen
 t of Pharmacology\, University of Oxford)
LOCATION:Venue to be announced
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/228b6442-14ed-4bdc-9c50-c3e5ed0087e0/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:How culture transformed the human brain --- Dr. John Parr
 ington\, University of Oxford - Associate Professor John Parrington (Depar
 tment of Pharmacology\, University of Oxford)
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