Calculus, Logic, Music and the Human Brain

[Rayaan]

So you are saying that selective pressures weeded out the humans who did not possess enough cognitive capacity thus preserving those that did?

I didn't say that - although yes - that is an extrapolation of what I said.
And yes, I do believe that the brain was subject to selective pressures because selection is a key mechanism for evolution.

See this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876205/

So exactly when did we develop the ability to think logically and to conduct advanced mathematics?

I don't know the exact time period when we developed the ability to think logically and to conduct advanced mathematics.

However, the two important things you should know are that logical deduction emerged much earlier than the ability to perform advanced mathematics, and secondly, that the development was a gradual process and that's why I don't think that any scientist will ever be able to accurately determine at exactly what point in human evolution we developed these cognitive abilities.

Would this have been around the time of the great philosophers in Greece around 4,500 years ago?

Yes, because if they were great philosophers, then it logically implies that they also had all those abilities to a certain extent (irrespective of the time that they lived in). Also, as Justtristo noted, the correct number for how many years ago the great philosophers lived in Greece is around 2,500, not 4,500. However, if you still think that I'm wrong, then I would like you to mention the name of a particular philosopher or philosophers that you originally had in your mind.

Calculus first appeared in the 17th century, is this when humans developed the cognitive ability to do it?

Not necessarily, because even if calculus first appeared in the 17th century, this doesn't mean that this is the exact time when humans developed the ability to do calculus.

There may have been other people who lived before the 17th century that knew a few basic things about calculus, things that are related to calculus, or perhaps things that are less advanced than calculus (if not calculus). Afterall, there are many branches of mathematics and each has its own level of difficulty. But again, as I said before, the important thing is that these logical, mathematical, and musical abilities that you are talking about didn't pop up in our heads in a single day nor in a single century. Rather, their development was simply an evolutionary process.