As followers of natural science we know nothing of any relation between thoughts and the brain, except as a gross correlation in time and space.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the limitation of our understanding of the relationship between thoughts and brain activity.
In this quote, Charles Scott Sherrington emphasizes that while we observe correlations between thoughts and brain functions in terms of timing and spatial location, our comprehension of the underlying relationship remains rudimentary. This acknowledgment of the gaps in knowledge underscores the complexity of the mind-brain connection and encourages further inquiry into the intricacies of consciousness and cognition within the realm of natural science.
In practice
In a lecture discussing the philosophy of mind, this quote can illustrate the complexity of understanding human thought.
The brain seems a thoroughfare for nerve-action passing its way to the motor animal. It has been remarked that Life's aim is an act not a thought. To-day the dictum must be modified to admit that, often, to refrain from an act is no less an act than to commit one, because inhibition is coequally with excitation a nervous activity.
If it were only a few degrees, that would be serious, but we could adapt to it. But the danger is the warming process might be unstable and run away. We could end up like Venus, covered in clouds and with the surface temperature of 400 degrees. It could be too late if we wait until the bad effects of warming become obvious. We need action now to reduce emission of carbon dioxide.
The important thing is that we now have the tools to sequence all kinds of animals and plants and microbes - as well as humans. It is not important that we didn't actually finish the human sequence yet.
It is on record that when a young aspirant asked Faraday the secret of his success as a scientific investigator, he replied, 'The secret is comprised in three words- Work, Finish, Publish.'
Only 20 percent of our longevity is genetically determined. The rest is what we do, how we live our lives and increasingly the molecules that we take. It's not the loss of our DNA that causes aging, it's the problems in reading the information, the epigenetic noise.
At lunch Francis [Crick] winged into the Eagle to tell everyone within hearing distance that we had found the secret of life.
We must still think of ourselves as pioneers to understand the importance of space.
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