In evolution, however, the enlargement of the brain has not only taken place in apes and hominids
Parade, Cusco, Peru, 27. 8. 1989
but also seems to be a general principle of evolution. Carel van Schaik and Karin Isler explain the problems that animals have with the growth and maintenance of their brains and then write:
Therefore, there are good reasons to assume that each animal species has the largest brain that it can energetically afford. Despite these costs, brain size has gradually increased over evolutionary periods. This is what palaeontologists call the Law of Marsh. It was formulated as early as 1879. (p. 155)
To regulate the energy of the human brain, Achim Peters formulated the Selfish Brain Theory, which is important in our context.
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