In this fascinating book, William R. Uttal raises the possibility that, however much we learn about the anatomy and physiology of the brain and psychology, we may never be able to cross the final bridge explaining how the mind is produced by the brain. Three main classes of mind-brain theory are considered and rejected: field theories, because they are based on a superficial analogy; single cell theories, because they emerge from a massive uncontrolled experimental program; and neural net theories, because they are constrained by combinatorial complexity. To support his argument, Uttal explores the empirical and conceptual foundations of these theoretical approaches and identifies flaws in their fundamental logic. The author concludes that the problems preventing solution of the mind-brain problem are intractable, yet well within the confines of natural science.
The articles in this special issue use a wide range of techniques and subject populations to address fundamental questions about the cognitive and neural structure of theory of mind.
... Pete Mandik's This Is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction (2013), and Andrew Bailey's (editor) Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers (2014). Some of the most important academic publishers have also produced useful reference guides, ...
This book, a companion to William R. Uttal’s earlier work on macrotheories theories of mind-brain relationships, reviews another set of theories—those based on microneuronal measurements.
In this book, William R. Uttal continues his analysis and critique of theories of mind.
Does the brain create the mind, or is some external entity involved? This book synthesizes ideas borrowed from philosophy, religion, and science.
This book develops a new theory of determinism that offers fresh insights into questions of how intentions and other mental events relate to neural events, how both come about, and...
In classical lexical decision experiments that were published in 1981, Roger Schvaneveldt and James McDonald (Schvaneveldt and McDonald, 1981) presented word and non- word targets after R, N, or U word primes. Each prime remained on for ...
This volume presents some of the state-of-the-art reflections on philosophical efforts to 'make sense' of neuroscience, as regards issue including neuroaesthetics, brain science and the law, neurofeminism, embodiment, race, memory and pain.
Rodolfo R. Llinas and Urs Ribary. David Mumford. Tomaso Poggio and Anya Hurlbert. Michael I. Posner and Mary K. Rothbart. Wolf Singer. Charles F. Stevens. Shimon Ullman. David C. Van Essen, Charles W. Anderson, and Bruno A. Olshausen
Yet the field of social neuroscience is moving on, and so are the questions that will hopefully be addressed by future research. In the following section, important open questions and promising research directions will be addressed and ...