- The superior/inferior characterize actually is part of the triune model, Maclean's book is replete with language like "advanced" vs "primitive".

- The point of the criticism is not that the neocortex is not a "layer" at all, but that it is not the case that if you were to remove the neocortex layer, you would essentially get the brain of a lower-order animal--but this is what is implied by the triune theory.