Dick Svaab (Dutch. Dick Frans Swaab) (born December 17, 1944) - neurobiologist, professor at the University of Amsterdam, director (1978-2005) of the Netherlands Institute of the Brain at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, author of the popular science book "We are our brain. From the uterus to Alzheimer's"
In a conversation that took place within the framework of Daria Zlatopolskaya's White Studio program, Dick Svaab spoke about the peculiarities of thinking in children and adults, the nature of our feelings, such as empathy, guilt, envy, the desire for justice, about the neurobiological bases of various diseases (for example, alzheimer, autism, schizophrenia), as well as how the brain of gifted people works and what difficulties they face.
“The scientist who changed the idea of the brain. He discovered the secrets of thought processes, the nature of gender differences and the causes of genetic diseases."
In particular, the presenter and the scientist talked about the positive and negative sides of the ability to empathize, about what environmental factors are important for the formation of a healthy personality, where is the border between personality traits and mental illness, what is the difference between pleasure and happiness, as an art, in particular music and painting, interact with the brain and what is the price of creativity.
Perhaps the most striking revelation that Dick Swaab shared with the audience is that freedom of choice is our illusion, because all the decisions we think we make on our own are born in the brain a few seconds before we we come to them deliberately.
"There is no freedom of action or inaction from the point of view of brain function, it is the brain that dictates our decisions."
So what happens - we are just an application to our brain? What is our role as individuals in these processes? Looking for answers in an interview with Dick Swaab:
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