Dennis McKenna - Why Have Our Brains Shrunk?
'Plants have an incredibly symbiotic relationship with insects to complete their life cycle....There was a very specific symbiosis with us, and whatever other animals that ate these fruits. We did them a favor by disseminating the seeds. They did us a favor by providing us with this neurochemical rich environment that contributed to the complexification of the human neural structure.' - DM
Symbiosis and cooperation within nature is arguably a feature more prevalent than even competition...something Darwin himself seemed to understand. In recent times our perception of nature's true interwoven depth has become distorted, retreating to the mere surfaces of things, whereas this symbiotic environment often operates within the invisible landscape of molecular communication.
Most trees, for example, are engaged in a symbiotic relationship with fungi (among other things)... but who can tell at a brief, uninformed glance? Dennis' old remark that 'plants have substituted biosynthesis for behavior' comes to mind.
Here Dennis McKenna outlines some elements of consciousness researcher Tony Wright's theory of symbiotic neural evolution (and degeneration), as outlined in his book Left in the Dark (recently republished as Return to the Brain of Eden).
Although the theory is at its core based upon very simple biological principles and data, there is a lot of detail that goes into the overall context. Some key elements--such as the effect of plant biochemistry on our hormonal and transcription environment and how this could have effected our development--were left out in the present video. You can read more about this here. Or read the interview with Tony Wright featured in the first issue of The Nexian E-zine where this is explained in more detail.
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