Development of the Mind

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Development of the Mind
The social aspect of our cognitive development
In Chapter 5 of Being Human entitled “Many Stages, One Life”, it is argued that humans are embodied beings that live through time and changing continuously as it passes. These changes are easily manifested in physical changes, the wear and tear leading to the eventual demise of our mortal body. But in the said chapter, it was asked “what becomes of our non-corporeal identities as our bodies age and our experiences accumulate? How do our minds develop, from cradle to the grave? In what ways do they remain the same?” These questions will be central to the succeeding discussions in this paper.
The development of the mind
The mind is an astounding leap in the evolutionary ladder – our capacity to use it for reason differentiates us from the remaining members of the animal kingdom. According to Daniel Siegel, “a core aspect of the mind is an embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information.” It is important to note the use of “embodied and relational process” in this definition. This goes back to the “nature vs. nurture” debate however, recent discoveries in this field showed that it is not that one of this perspectives is the correct one rather they are mutually reinforcing. Moreover, there is also the distinction between the mind in the brain – whereas the former may refer to the incorporeal, the latter is the matter found inside our heads.
How the mind develops as we grow old and acquire experience remained a question for everybody despite the discoveries in psychology and neuroscience, among others. We start this narrative of mind development during its early formations: when a child is born. The 17th century philosopher John Locke made a famous argument that a child’s mind is a tabula rasa – a blank slate. This means that when a baby is born, she has no impression of this world. Only when she starts growing up that she learns to know this world and understand its meaning. If we are to argue that a baby’s mind is a blank slate, then who draws upon that slate to allow for the child’s cognitive processes? The obvious answer may well be those who are closest to her, usually her parents. Sigmund Freud’s research findings may prove helpful at this juncture however, it is also worth noting the excerpt from Peter Pan in Chapter 5 of the aforementioned book.
It starts with the narrator talking about our minds:
Doctors sometimes draw maps of other parts of you, and your own map can become intensely interesting, but catch them trying to draw a map of a child’s mind, which is not only confused, but keeps going round all the time. There are zigzag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card, and these are probably roads in the island; for the Neverland is always more or less an island, with astonishing splashes of colour here and there…
The doctors referred to in this passage could also be psychologists who try to map our brains for hopes of understanding it better. Now, it says that if you try to draw a child’s mind, you will end up confused for it is Neverland that you will see. Neverland is the fictional place where Peter Pan and the rest of his gang’s story take place. In this case, a child’s mind is not a blank slate after all where adults can draw on them. However, in the following passage, we notice how Wendy’s mother tries to impress upon the thought processes of her children:
Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children’s minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day… 
A child’s mind is impressionable and her cognitive development relies upon those around her. Freud argued that in the process of a child’s growth, she identifies with her parents – first with her father (Elektra complex; Oedipus complex for boys) and as she grows older, she comes to identify with her mother. Recent attachment researchers have found out that mind development continues in response to emotional relationships throughout one’s lifespan. This means that one’s immediate social group plays a crucial role in the development of the mind and following Freud’s theory, memory repression can be overcome through continuous relational negotiations.
On the other hand, researchers identified two periods of brain development: critical periods and sensitive periods of development.  The former refers “represents a narrow window of time during which a specific part of the body is most vulnerable to the absence of stimulation or to environmental influences” while the latter “are the broad windows or opportunity for certain types of learning.” Now, understanding this difference is important in early brain development which could likely affect mind development in later life. According to Linda Darling-Hummond, children develop through several “pathways of development.”  These pathways include: physical, social-interactive, emotional, psychological, cognitive, linguistic, and moral-ethical. In each of these pathways, children vary across and within ages. Moreover, social and cultural contexts are closely associated in each of these different pathways in different ways and how these pathways interact and influence one another.
Another interesting finding shows that the coherence of the parents’ lives or the person closest to a child is the most effective determinant of her attachment to her parents.  Analyzing the social nature of the mind, it can be said that “shared subjective experience is one of the most important aspects of human relationships and of psychological development.” In this case, the cycle just goes on, as the child grows, the stability of her early life will largely determines the life she will have in the future. Finally, Siegel argued that “an interpersonal neurobiology of the developing mind yields a scientific, objective view of the importance of subjectivity in human life.”
Going back to the said story, after Peter Pan killed his arch-enemy, he remained in Neverland while Wendy and her brothers came back to this world. Peter Pan did not want to grow old but Wendy and her brothers did grow old. And the following conversation between Wendy and her daughter illustrates how changes happen so swiftly to our minds as we grow old:
Once a week Jane’s nurse had her evening off; and then it was Wendy’s part to put Jane to bed…
“What do we see now?”
“I don’t think I see anything to-night,” says Wendy…
“Yes, you do,” says Jane, “you see when you were a...