It was a blow to human pride when Copernicus and other astronomers discovered that the planet earth is neither the center of the universe nor the center of the solar system, not even unique among celestial bodies, but only an insignificant bit of matter in the immensity of galaxies, many of which may contain other highly developed planets (66, 113). The modesty of the spaceship earth is a reality, and we must accept it and adapt to it. Only then can we understand our universe and start planning to conquer the stars.

Darwin gave our pride a second blow and made an historical step toward understanding ourselves. Man had embellished fantasies about his unique origin as a descendent of gods, made master of a world graciously created for his enjoyment and fulfillment. Shattering this wishful thinking, Darwin developed the ideas of Anaximander, Lamarck, and his own grandfather, Erasmus, and proposed the doctrine of evolution. The different forms of life developed gradually from a common ancestry through a struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. Homo sapiens was not created de novo by special design and was only the remarkable product of a long process of biological evolution. Man is different from monkeys and lizards, just as monkeys and lizards differ from worms and amoebas. All are links in the evolutionary process. A biological memory of ancient times is preserved as functional traces in higher organisms. The chemical composition of the blood of mammals, for example, has

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a strong resemblance to sea water where life probably originated. Antecedents of a thinking brain may be found in lower animals, and in varying degrees, mental abilities like memory, learning, and problem solving are shared by octopus, rat, and man. By accepting this reality we can perceive our continuing evolution and become more motivated to influence the destiny of the human race.

We may now be approaching a third equally momentous discovery about ourselves. The analysis of mental activities in the context of brain physiology indicates that our own self, our ego, is not so unique or even independent, as Freud pointed out many years ago. Study of the elements which constitute personal identity reveals the two classical factors of nature and nurture. These factors are given to, and not chosen by, the individual. The amino acids which form the genes are selected and assembled in the helix by natural chance, without intervention of the desires of the owner or the donors, and according to laws related to the history of protozoas, fishes, and apes, beyond the control or awareness of man. Genetically we are not the masters but the slaves of millenniums of biological history.

The other factors which form personality originate in the environment and are initially received by each baby without any possible choice. The baby does not select his parents, country of birth, or the language spoken around him. Personality is formed by a constellation of borrowed elements related to ideological, behavioral, and cultural systems, and dependent on a continuous stream of sensory inputs. This is reality, and we must accept it and adapt to it. Only then can we apply our intelligence to the investigation and conquering of the human mind. Only then can we contemplate development of a future psychocivilized human being, a less cruel, happier, and better man. The concept of individuals as self-sufficient and independent entities is based on false premises.

In the Copernican universe, our planet and man himself were demoted from their original geocentric position, but there was still a comfortable sensation of security based on law and

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order, and as Newton explained, the most complex celestial phenomena could in fact be reduced to relatively simple formulas. Similar laws could be applied to falling apples or to the attraction and repulsion of planets floating in the immensity of sidereal space. Reality, however, was still more complex and less stable, and a new understanding of the universe was provided by the quantum theory of Planck and the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg, culminating in the ideas of relativity formulated by Einstein. Time and distance lost their former absolute values and appeared to have a different meaning to different observers.

The problem is that the universe has no center. Everything is relative and all that we can do is to compare the relations among given sets of values and express the result by mathematical formulas. If the size of all existing materials in the earth was suddenly reduced (or increased) 100 times (or any other amount), no human being would be able to detect the spectacular change because of the lack of units of reference. Two cars traveling at the same speed are motionless with respect to each other. While inside a jet airplane flying at 1,000 kilometers per hour, we may take a slow walk down the aisle at a speed of 1 meter per second. To say then that we are moving at 1,003.6 kilometers per hour would be meaningless unless we specified our points of reference. We do not have any absolute and immutable yardstick. The limitation of the world of physics is that it can be perceived only as the relativity of one value compared with another.

These well-known concepts of physics have a direct application to the understanding of mental functions, to which some absolute values were erroneously attributed in the past. The mind also lacks a center, and in reality its functions are based on the relativistic comparison of information which has not been created by cerebral neurons but which originates in the environment and is perceived through sensory reception of data as a temporal sequence of experiences which are processed by cerebral neurons and stored, to be used as future frames of reference.

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After all, the acceptance of relativity in physics is only a consequence of the physiological properties of our brain, which lacks the intrinsic capability for absolute measurement of time or space.

We must formulate similar questions in psychology, knowing that the brain is not able to produce absolute thoughts, to create absolute values, or to unveil intrinsic principles of ethics. There is a psychological relativity parallel to the physical one, and our task is not to discover "true" personalities, because the search for absolute values is fantasy, but rather to investigate the origin, reception, intracerebral circulation, and behavioral manifestations of the sets of values which form the relative frame of reference of each individual. The importance of this approach is that in rejecting the immutability of values we also reject the fatal determination of destiny, and instead of accepting natural fate, we may gain a new personal freedom by using intelligence, considering that the systems of ideology and behavioral reactivity are only relative human creations which can be modified by the feedback of reason.

Man may be considered a provisional collection of matter and information, both provided by the environment, constituting relative frames of reference to be compared, within the limitations and under the terms of the human mind, with other frames of reference.

We know that atoms of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and other elements which form part of organic and inorganic compounds, such as water, vegetables, and animal proteins, have been combined in a special manner to constitute membranes, cells, and other parts of living beings, without the help of "vital spirits" or other metaphysical mysteries. Our living body is only a transitory organization of chemical compounds. We may place a radioactive tag in sodium or potassium ions, to follow their metabolic pathways as they enter the body, circulate through it, take part in specific activities, and are stored in some organ or excreted to the outside. Every single ion which forms our flesh pre-existed in nature. A small number of them, a minor

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fraction of the immense total, form part of each organism during its relatively brief span of existence, and all of these "personal" atoms, which in reality lack any individual specificity, will revert back to the environment. Atoms, organization, and time are the only factors which constitute the organisms, and nobody should be disturbed or offended by the fact that he has not invented or consciously chosen the ions that integrate his anatomical structure. It is true that the astonishing unique properties of awareness, thinking, and behaving are new qualities which did not exist among the properties of the single ions, and that their appearance is related to a tremendously complex organization which we still do not comprehend. In order to understand and accept this fact it may be helpful to consider that water has different physical and chemical properties than its constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen. The complexity of organization may determine the emergence of new properties nonexistent in the simpler building blocks.

To establish a psychophysical parallel, we may consider that words, concepts, information, patterns of response, and other elements indispensable for mental activities pre-exist in culture before each individual is born. These elements enter the organism by impinging on sensory inputs, and then circulate through the central nervous system, taking part in specific mental activities and finally being stored as memories and perhaps exteriorized as part of behavioral expression. The gamut of words, symbols, and information necessary for ideological processes must be provided from the outside, and only a small portion of the existing immensity is used to structure the individual mind. No one should be disturbed by the fact that he is borrowing most of his mental constituents and that he has not invented the alphabet, mathematics, ethics, history, or any of the many subjects filling our brains.

We are provided with frames of mental reference and by necessity our reactions—and personal identity—will be related to this given frame. Individual uniqueness is merely the unique chance in the acquisition, combination, and modulation of

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available elements, and the relative central axis is not the individual but the elements originating in the outside. There is not much more merit—or responsibility—in learning to walk or in speaking our native tongue than there is in growing hair.

Unless we are taught to think with critical evaluation of the perceived reality and we understand the principle of psychological relativity, it will be very difficult to escape from the ideological and behavioral imprinting of early childhood. The individual may think that the most important fact of reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view, a relative frame of reference which is not shared by the rest of the living world. This self-importance also lacks historical perspective, for the brief existence of one person should be considered in terms of the world population, mankind, and the whole universe. It is quite reasonable to feel that "I" am the most important creature that ever existed, but unless I realize the egocentric relativity of my appreciation at the same time, I am ignoring many other frames of reference, as valuable as my own, which are essential in order to understand my position both among other living beings and in the context of cosmic evolution. Understanding of the relative value of personal existence from the individual and cosmic points of view as complementary aspects of the same reality may facilitate the personal adaptation to the environment. It may also provide feedback possibilities of influencing this reality by using intelligent purpose to modify natural causality.

In Sartre's (194) dualism of being-in-itself (a stone is a stone, which being static always coincides with itself) and being-for-itself (the realm of consciousness perpetually beyond itself), the second aspect represents our existence as continuously flowing out, preventing us from possessing our being the way we can possess a static object, and creating the essential conflict and anxiety over our desire for the security of being a stable entity. This important concept should be supplemented by recognition of the essential need for a continuous flowing in of sensory inputs. Self-realization, after all, derives from the

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processing of information coming from the environment, and accomplishment is a feedback which establishes a congruence between a drive and the sensory perception of a behavioral performance. The existential flowing out cannot occur without a previous flowing in, and what flow in and out are merely information, cultural symbols, and behavioral patterns created not by the individual but by the collective effort of many men—most of them dead—accumulated through many thousands of years and graciously given to each of us.

A clearer understanding of our continuous environmental and social dependence will increase our interest in identifying and investigating the factors, reasons, and mechanisms of this dependence. Realization that the elements which form our personality and originate in the surroundings are so essential may promote the establishment of stronger intellectual and emotional bonds with the cultural source, increasing our motivation to enhance the environment which is the provider of our personal building blocks. Social integration may be improved when it is understood that society forms the basis of each individual and that personal destiny is related to and in large part dependent on the destiny of the whole group. Alienation from established cultural forms and lack of social responsibility could be diminished by an increased awareness of our social dependence.

In primitive societies there was a limited choice of sensory inputs, provided mainly by surrounding nature. As man was bound to a small piece of territory, he had very few opportunities for ecological, sociological, or ideological change, and natural chance was the principle source of information. In present civilized societies, many sensory inputs originate in the technological surroundings created by man. Because of mass communications, important events are shared around the world. The tragic death of one man, once an incident of local significance, may now be reported globally and felt as a personal loss by millions of distant people. The work of one person who discovers electricity or antibiotics may now transform the quality

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of life in all countries. Different technologies, arts, sciences, and political and religious ideologies affect the lives of most men. In principle, adults can select their country, climate, and culture and any setting from the sensory isolation of a psychologist's experimental cubicle to the sensory assault of a metropolis.

But the desires and mechanisms for choice are determined mainly by early childhood experiences, cultural imprinting, and learned patterns of response. Newborn babies are completely dependent on parental care for the quality and quantity of sensory inputs as well as for food and warmth. The elements offered by the environment are almost infinite, but only a limited number are used to structure each individual. Their selection depends on chance, which among many variables includes the presence and behavior of parents and teachers. We must recognize that initially an individual has no control over the sensory inputs which mold his mind, and that during the decisive years of childhood, when each of us receives emotional impacts, behavioral formulas, and ideological frameworks, we are unable to search independently for alternatives. Our initial personality is structured in a rather automatic way when our capacity for intelligent choice has not developed.

If we accept that early experience is decisive for the establishment of personal identity, then we must accept that individual mental structure is not self-determined but hetero-determined by the interaction of genes received from our ancestors and information received from the environment and culture. Where, then, is the freedom to construct personal identity? To clarify these ideas, let us remember that liberal societies are based on the principle of individual self-determination, with the assumption that each human being is born free and has the right to develop his own mind, to construct his own ideology, to shape his own behavior, and to express his personality without external pressures or indoctrination. The role of education, which involves both parents and schools, is to help these processes evolve with due respect for the individual. One of the main goals in these societies is "to find ourselves,"

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and to develop our potential while remaining independent and self-sufficient. Privacy has a high priority in its intellectual, emotional, material, and territorial aspects, and personal freedom stops with interference in the rights of others.

This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal, but unfortunately its assumptions are not supported by neurophysiological and psychological studies of intracerebral mechanisms. The brain of the newborn lacks the stored information, neuronal circuits, and functional keyboards prerequisite to the formulation of choice. The infant may have the right to be free, but he has neither the option nor the biological mechanisms for free behavior. Confrontation with a multiplicity of choices may create confusion and anxiety in a child who does not yet possess the necessary mental sophistication to choose. This frustrating situation of inadequacy may have a traumatic and deforming effect rather than a constructive and positive one. The brain of an adult usually possesses the capacity to select a response but even it is not self-sufficient; for the brain needs constant environmental inputs in order to preserve mental normality, and a flow of information is necessary to make each judgment against the background of experience.

The decisive importance of children's education has been recognized in pedagogy, psychology, and sociology, and the permissive or authoritarian orientation has been a highly controversial subject. Without entering directly into this debate, I would like to point out the fallacy in the theory that permissiveness develops the "true" and "free" personality of the child. Permissiveness, like any other educational approach to human relations, imposes a type of response which influences the processing of sensory inputs and establishes a pattern of behavior. Education has consequences predictable within a range of variability. Obviously if we were not expecting some result, we would not educate. We may argue that the personality developed through permissiveness is better adapted to present times, or that it will have less—or more—psychological and social conflicts. We should understand, however, that a permissively

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structured child is as much the product of his parents' manipulation as the child of the most authoritarian mother. The choice is the parents', not the child's.

The brain, per se, with all its genes, is not sufficient for the development of a mind in the absence of external information, and the content of this information is decisive in the establishment of mental structure. Even the withdrawal of parental care is a factor which can irrevocably shape future behavior of the young, as demonstrated by Harlow's neurotic motherless monkeys and by the emotional and mental handicap suffered by homeless children.

When a parent passively accepts violent behavior, insulting words, or physical assault from his child, he is positively reinforcing this kind of reaction and is facilitating the establishment of aggressive patterns which may be generalized to other social situations later on. While physical aggression is rare in four year olds, by six years of age a child has developed sufficient motor skills and curiosity to engage in social interaction and competition with his peers. Studies have shown that at this point intermittent or differential reinforcing of antisocial behavior is the most effective method for establishing patterns of aggression (9). Some tendencies are inborn, but the quality and quantity of their expression depend on experience. Repression of violence may create undesirable conflicts and frustrations only when the pattern of violence has already been created by previous learning. A basic inborn drive like sex is a blind force dependent on symbols, experience, and cultural patterns of response.

Whatever we do or fail to do when we are in charge of a baby will influence his future mental structure. Our attitude, therefore, should not be to close our eyes and accept chance, but to investigate the extracerebral and intracerebral elements which intervene in the formation of personality. To study what is going on inside of the brain is as important as to consider the other aspects of education and behavior. These remarks are intended both to demonstrate that we

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should not base our interpersonal relations on false or unproved assumptions and to indicate the need to study these problems experimentally within the framework of intracerebral physiology. As our power to influence the mental structure of man continually increases, we face the question of the kind of people we would like to create. We must realize that parents and educators are imprinting and manipulating the minds and personalities of young people in any case, and that we are responsible for giving coherent form and ethical purpose to the psychogenetic elements transmitted to the child. The issue is whether violence and other behavioral patterns are inborn and inevitable or whether they are mainly related to a cultural learning which may be influenced by intelligent planning.

Ecological forces cannot be ignored or destroyed. Liberation from and domination of the environment became possible when we discovered the laws of nature and directed them with our intelligence. We cannot ignore the biological laws of the mind either. We should use our intelligence to direct our behavior, rather than accept its determination by unknown forces. Through education we should provide awareness of the elements, including intracerebral mechanisms, which intervene in the formation of personal identity, and we should teach the processes of decision-making and intelligent choice. Personal freedom is not a biological gift but a mental attribute which must be learned and cultivated. To be free is not to satisfy sexual drive, to fill an empty stomach, or to quarrel with our wives because of our repressed fears or mother-infant relations. Freedom requires the recognition of biological drives and their intelligent direction through processes of sublimation, substitution, postponement, or simply their satisfaction with civilized refinement and enjoyment. Individual freedom will increase when we understand the setting of our personality in early childhood and when we develop means for the intelligent evaluation and emotional interpretation of the information reaching us from the environment. We should try to establish, at the earliest possible moment

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of the baby's life, a program of psychogenesis, meaning the use of available physiological, psychological, and psychiatric knowledge for the formation of the child's personality. Courses on psychogenesis should be taken by parents and educators as well as by children as a part of the school curriculum. The postulates of psychogenesis are: (1) The mind does not exist at the moment of birth. (2) The mind cannot appear in the absence of sensory inputs. (3) Individual identity and personal behavior are not properties of the brain which will unfold automatically through neuronal maturation, but are acquired functions which must be learned and therefore depend essentially on the reception of sensory inputs. (4) The purpose of education is not the unveiling of individual mental functions but the creation, the genesis of them, (5) Symbols from the environment will be physically integrated within the brain as molecular changes in the neuronal structure. (6) Man is not born free but subservient to genes and education. (7) Personal freedom is not inherited nor is it a gift of nature, but one of the highest attainments of civilization which requires awareness and intellectual and emotional training in order to process and choose consciously and intelligently among environmental alternatives. (8) Education should not be authoritarian because then mental flexibility is reduced, handicapping creativity and forcing behavioral conformity or producing hyperreactive rejection and rebellion. Education should not be permissive either, because then other kinds of automatisms are being developed, determined by the blind chance of environmental circumstances. In a permissive atmosphere, the individual may be a slave of his own emotions, while an authoritarian upbringing creates a tyranny of inhibitions and conformism. Both extremes are undesirable and it is preferable to direct mental and behavioral development toward a self-determination of goals, knowing that if we want to create free individuals, we must teach them to be so (210). Understanding of the cerebral mechanisms involved in behavioral responses provides a feedback which modifies these mechanisms, introducing elements of conscious determination.

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In recent generations, there has been an anxious search for freedom and personal identity, an attempt to escape from the faceless mass of a technological society, and a rebellion against traditional morality, ethical principles, and ideological cliches. In this challenge to established values, sensory stimulation has grown louder, men's hair longer, skirts shorter, and rebellion has become the goal—to be free from family, teachers, and society; to let the mind float, searching for the depth of the self, perhaps with psychedelic aids, perceiving a stream of uninhibited messages and dreams; to live a natural life without the artificial pressures of schedules and obligations; to have free speech, free expression, artistic creativity without established rules, and a multiperception of feelings flooding the senses.

In this attitude, which is responsible for many of the present conflicts and maladjustments, there is a fallacy similar to the fallacy of permissive education. We cannot be free from parents, teachers, and society because they are the extracerebral sources of our minds, and to resent or deny this reality is not going to change it. A young person can be proud of working hard, but he cannot take credit for being smart: studies have shown that IQ is determined by the environment, and that the intellectual and motor skills required for success must be taught by the guardians of childhood. The persistence of dependence on an initial source of emotions and information, like the mother, can be undesirable, but this problem should not be confused with the existence of bonds and education provided by the mother and by society.

We may disagree with the system of values and ideology given to us, and subsequently we may espouse a different philosophy and try to assume another identity. Great alterations are possible, and we may cherish or curse our past, but its cultural elements will be forever our frame of reference. In the depth of our minds we are going to discover only the remains of what we have learned and experienced.

The young Americans who have taken refuge in Ibiza or Crete seldom identify with the customs or ideology of their adopted

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lands. They enjoy nature but do not participate in local culture. They admit to feeling "American," although they may reject the present economic or political values of the United States. Their basic emotional patterns of response were established during early childhood and their later changes are limited. This fact is in part related to the progressive loss of neuronal plasticity through age.

The old temple inscription "Know Thyself" is often repeated today, but perhaps it is not adequate. It should declare "Construct Thyself" as well. Shape your mind, train your thinking power, and direct your emotions more rationally; liberate your behavior from the ancestral burden of reptiles and monkeys—be a man and use your intelligence to orient the reactions of your mind.

The human being is a functional trinity of sensory inputs and behavioral responses connected by the essential link of intracerebral processes. The three aspects are equally essential, even if only the first two were considered important in the past. Today we have begun to unravel the secrets of cerebral activities, and a new perspective for the understanding of man is emerging from the experimental complexities of neurobehavioral data.