Indeed, before dismissing it entirely, one would presumably want an account of why it features so prominently in our mental and social lives.
One aspect to this seems to be that clinging is a mechanism by which a portion of the network maintains its own activation. Given evolutionary dynamics, it’s unsurprising to see widespread greediness and self-recommendation among neurons/neural structures (cf Neurons Gone Wild).
Interesting; I hadn’t really considered that angle. Seems like this could also apply to other mental phenomena that might seem self-recommending (pleasure? rationality?), but which plausibly have other, more generally adaptive functions as well, so I would continue to wonder about other functions regardless.
One aspect to this seems to be that clinging is a mechanism by which a portion of the network maintains its own activation. Given evolutionary dynamics, it’s unsurprising to see widespread greediness and self-recommendation among neurons/neural structures (cf Neurons Gone Wild).
Interesting; I hadn’t really considered that angle. Seems like this could also apply to other mental phenomena that might seem self-recommending (pleasure? rationality?), but which plausibly have other, more generally adaptive functions as well, so I would continue to wonder about other functions regardless.