Perception Seeing and Knowing "Beauty Research Paper

Total Length: 854 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 4

Page 1 of 3



This "seeing" of something that was not there, and that was of course absolutely known to be missing to the subject, helped the brain reconcile itself to the body's new shape and thus remove the need for the pain centers of the brain to continue to send phantom waves of pain. In just a few minutes, Ramachandran's subjects could overcome pain that had in many cases haunted them for years and even decades.

Ramachandran based this breakthrough on an established understanding that "that there's a complete map of the body's surface on the surface of the brain." However, the way in which the body is mapped on the surface area of the brain is not as straightforward as scientists had once expected, as Ramachandran explains:

So every point on the body's surface has a corresponding point in the brain. Now the curious thing about this map is, even though it's continuous, the face area of the map is right next to the hand area instead of being near the neck where it should be. (V.S.

Stuck Writing Your "Perception Seeing and Knowing "Beauty" Research Paper?

Ramachandran's Tales of the 'Tell-Tale Brain')

The above experiment is typical of the way in which Ramachandran has helped to create the emerging field of cognitive neuroscience. By working with "patients with damage or genetic quirks in different parts of their brains that produce bizarre effects on their minds or behavior" he has been able to come to much richer understandings of the ways in which "normal" minds work (Ramachandran, 2011).

Such a strategy will continue to allow scientists to understand some of the most important and enduring questions about humanity that Ramachandran poses:

What is the so-called mind-body connection? What determines your sexual identity? What is consciousness? What goes wrong in autism? How can we account for all of those mysterious faculties that are so quintessentially human, such as art, language, metaphor, creativity, self-awareness, and even religious sensibilities? (Ramachandran, 2011)

It's an exhilarating vision. But as Ramachandran himself warns, there is still a very long way to go before the scientist knows more about what makes something beautiful than does the poet......

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Perception Seeing And Knowing Beauty" (2011, March 21) Retrieved June 13, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/perception-seeing-knowing-beauty-3541

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Perception Seeing And Knowing Beauty" 21 March 2011. Web.13 June. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/perception-seeing-knowing-beauty-3541>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Perception Seeing And Knowing Beauty", 21 March 2011, Accessed.13 June. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/perception-seeing-knowing-beauty-3541