The simplest

multicellular animals we know are Porifera and Coelenterata (say sponges and jelly

fshes);

actually, Porifera have no Nervous System and Coelenterata have Nervous Systems with no

central organ comparable with a brain. Canadian biologist Sally Leys’s opinion (I quote by

memory) is that our concept of a Nervous System based on a brain which controls and governs

all neural activities is overestimated and needs a complete revision (

Endnote 4

). It seems that,

in animal evolution, the presence of a Nervous System starts as a pure network, rather than as

a centre which branches into the whole organism in order to control its activities. Its function

seems to be to connect and to allow coordination in order to improve the surviving capacities

of living beings.

Human species did not emerge as destined for culture and civilization; rather, it emerged in

force of non-

fnalistic Nature processes and built culture and civilization thanks to its surviving

capacities. These were linked to its special brain also; however, not in the sense that human

beings usually think before acting. In the natural hostile environment in which

Homo sapiens

evolved, surviving depends more on fast reaction capacities than on reasoning abilities (which

require time, which are slow, Kahnemann 2011).

As much as to say that immediate and

automatic reactions are the frst instrument

for surviving; culture and civilization come later

and are built on those reactions.

Roberto Maffei • Article