Imagery, Memory, and Domestication in Human Evolution Human cognition and behaviour are shaped by intricate relationships between sensory perception, memory, and social dynamics. These two seemingly distinct areas—how individuals process pain and how domestication influences traits like tameness and aggression—offer profound insights into both our neurological makeup and evolutionary history. By examining the role of pain and emotional imagery alongside domestication theories, we can better understand how these factors may have shaped human development. Mental Imagery: The Vivid, Muted, Emotional and Painful Imagery, the mental ability to visualise and recall sensory or emotional experiences, varies widely among individuals and even species . These variations influence behaviours ranging from empathy to aggression, with implications for how humans relate to pain and emotion—both in themselves and in others. Muted Pain and Emotional Imagery in Psychopathy: Psychopathy often involv...
I’ve always thought of myself as intuitive. From the moment I learned the word as a child, it felt like the perfect description of the things I sensed before I should know them. One of my earliest memories is a vivid example of this uncanny intuition—what I consider a type of very mild precognition. It was my last year of Primary School, and the Christmas play was a big event. That year, our tiny village school—with barely 60 students—had splurged on the rights to play the music from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat . The excitement buzzed through the classroom as the teachers began announcing the cast. We were all crammed into the biggest classroom, fidgeting in anticipation as name after name got called. My own name hadn’t been mentioned yet, but as the roles dwindled and with only a handful of us left, a strange and knowing thought crept into my mind: "No. They wouldn’t... Why would you even think that?", I tried to shake it off, but the feeling I...