HDM "Modes" and Evolutionary Aspects of Cognitive Functions

[scenefinale]

I've recently been pondering about the evolutionary aspects of the cognitive functions.

As far as SF being the foundation for humans, I could see it making sense.. Take an alien group of organisms, on a hypothetical planet similar to earth, which are starting to evolve to the point of consciousness... One of them eventually mutates, etc. Before you know it you have a groups of these organisms which "care" (in a very general sense of the term) for one another... Clearly, in my opinion at least, they will potentially have the advantage over the others which don't yet have such capability.

Technically unrelated but the following is the scene from BBC's Planet Earth which prompted this train of thought for me, so I'll include it in the post.
http://youtu.be/RVqS1UMr-eI


Why I mention this is I had this train of thought a long time ago but recent reading of Dr. Alan Khan's theory, he calls the Human Dimensions Model (HDM), I found quite interesting. I neither endorse nor agree with all of it but I'll give a quick summary (from a recent essay I wrote for school).

Short version:
1st mode, SF "Mode of Body"
2nd mode, ST "Mode of Hands"
3rd mode, NF "Mode of Communication"
4th mode, NT "Mode of Logic"

From my short essay

The first cognitive processing mode is Sensing Feeling (SF), called “the mode of the body” (Kahn), it developed around the time of Homo Habilis, and it laid the foundation for the same mode used by modern humans (Kahn). Sensing refers to the need for “very tangible... direct sensory perception” (Kahn) and Feeling referred to a “one at a time” emotional system, which tags the current “perceptual episode” (Kahn) with an emotional tag which Homo Habilis could then re apply upon recognizing very similar future “episodes”. The ability to associate feelings with memories, and recalling those feelings when triggered by sensory stimuli was a major step in evolution, and an extremely successful survival trait. The second cognitive processing mode is Sensing Thinking (ST), called “the mode of the hands” (Kahn), it developed around the time of Homo erectus. Homo erectus left archaeological evidence of complex tool-making, which suggests high development of the Left Procedural Cortex (Kahn). Thinking suggests the ability to look at a scenario objectively, rather than as Feelers tend to do, by their subjective feelings toward the objects. Kahn states “Dropping emotional recall may seem like a great loss, but it also came with a great gain... The T can work with and manipulate more information at a finer level of detail. For the H. erectus, this meant more advanced technology and the adaptability to move into and survive in habitats outside of Africa” (Kahn). The third cognitive processing mode is iNtuitive [sic] Feeling (NF), called “the mode of communication” (Kahn), it developed around the time of Homo sapiens, and the evidence to support this is largely based on specialization and large social groups (Kahn)

Also interesting is the theory that HDM modes correspond to Piaget's "genetic epistemology" such that:

Age    Piaget's stage     HDM mode   Skill
0-2    Sensorimotor           SF        Gross-motor
2-7    Preoperational         ST        Fine-motor
7-12   Concrete Operational   NF        Verbal/Social
12-15  Formal Operational     NT        Abstract intellectual

Essentially I interpret the argument as the mutations for opposible thumbs had eventually lead to fine-motor control processes of the brain taking place which really pushed human evolution.

There is a lot more in his book "Mind Shapes. Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication". The book, and consequently the HDM platform, never really took off, but I think there is a lot of good perspective in their research so I felt like sharing.

I posted it on another forum and there was quite a bit of blowback from non NT types... It's not my intention to upset anybody, I just think this is an appropriate place to discuss such a theory.

 

[TimeAsylums]

nothing anyone here hasn't brought up or suggested before

big surprise, from the physiological to the abstract/conceptual-sphere