3 different brains?
The human brain has 3 integral systems:
- reptilian (instincts),
- mammalian (emotions), and
- neo-cortex (left half is rational, right half is creative, intuitive).
Shame is an emotion formulated by the mammalian brain. Justice is an idea formulated by the neo-cortex, but what about our instincts?
If the instinctive urge to discharge intense survival energy is thwarted, then the function of the other 2 brain systems is profoundly altered.
What effect did the un-discharged energy have on the emotional+rational responses of the individuals? The emotional brain translated this energy into anger.
Then the “rational” brain created the idea of revenge. These two interrelated brain systems were doing what they could, given the circumstances.
However, the failure to instinctively discharge a powerful biological energy put them in a position they are not adapted to handle. The result of this attempt is re-enactment rather than re-negotiation.
