Moral Responsibility

1875 ◽  
Vol 21 (94) ◽  
pp. 251-266
Author(s):  
S. Messenger Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Mental Process ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Positive Knowledge ◽  
The Brain

Moral Responsibility, although often treated from a metaphysical point of view, has seldom been regarded from a physical or physiological side, and yet it is from this source alone that we are at present able to gain any accurate information respecting the working of the mind, and it is chiefly from this basis that I purpose here regarding it. The means of observation which metaphysicians employ have been known to, and employed by, philosophers for the last two thousand years, and yet it must be admitted with but a poor result. Until physiology came to their aid, they had not arrived at a knowledge of the fact that the grey cortical matter of the brain is the seat of the mind, and that intellectual action involves definite physico-chemical changes which we are to some extent capable of estimating. The psychologists, indeed, fixing their attention solely upon subjective phenomena, resemble those fatuous fakirs, who, intent upon a particular point in their own bodies, come to believe that the umbilicus is the seat of wisdom; or, rather, they resemble the horse in a threshing floor, which, however rapidly it may seem to advance, only retraces its steps in one small unending circle. It is a simple fact that, whatever positive knowledge we possess of the mental process has been obtained by the aid of physiology, and it is equally certain that all the knowledge we are likely to attain for a long time, if not always, must be derived from the same source.

Moral Responsibility

1875 ◽  
Vol 21 (94) ◽  
pp. 251-266
Author(s):  
S. Messenger Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Mental Process ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Positive Knowledge ◽  
The Brain

Moral Responsibility, although often treated from a metaphysical point of view, has seldom been regarded from a physical or physiological side, and yet it is from this source alone that we are at present able to gain any accurate information respecting the working of the mind, and it is chiefly from this basis that I purpose here regarding it. The means of observation which metaphysicians employ have been known to, and employed by, philosophers for the last two thousand years, and yet it must be admitted with but a poor result. Until physiology came to their aid, they had not arrived at a knowledge of the fact that the grey cortical matter of the brain is the seat of the mind, and that intellectual action involves definite physico-chemical changes which we are to some extent capable of estimating. The psychologists, indeed, fixing their attention solely upon subjective phenomena, resemble those fatuous fakirs, who, intent upon a particular point in their own bodies, come to believe that the umbilicus is the seat of wisdom; or, rather, they resemble the horse in a threshing floor, which, however rapidly it may seem to advance, only retraces its steps in one small unending circle. It is a simple fact that, whatever positive knowledge we possess of the mental process has been obtained by the aid of physiology, and it is equally certain that all the knowledge we are likely to attain for a long time, if not always, must be derived from the same source.

Еnactivist Criticism of the Neurobiological Theory of Consciousness

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Anastasia O. Shabalina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Science Methods ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Neural Substrate ◽  
Critical Revision ◽  
Concept Of Information ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Person Experience

The article considers the main arguments against the neurobiological theory of consciousness from the point of view of the enactivist approach within the philosophy of mind. The neurobiological theory of consciousness, which reduces consciousness to neural activity, is currently the dominant approach to the mind-body problem. The neurobiological theory emerged as a result of advances in research on the phenomena of consciousness and through the development of technologies for visualizing the internal processes of mind. However, at the very heart of this theory, there is a number of logical contradictions. The non-reductive enactivist approach to consciousness, introduced in this article, contributes to the existing argumentation against the reduction of consciousness to neural processes with remonstrations that take into account the modern neuroscientific data. The article analyzes the argumentation of the sensorimotor enactivism developed by A. Noe and offers the account of the teleosemantic approach to the concept of information provided by R. Cao. The key problems of the neurobiological theory of consciousness are highlighted, and the objections emerging within the framework of the enactivist approach are analyzed. Since the main concepts on which the neural theory is based are the concepts of neural substrate, cognition as representation, and information as a unit of cognition, the author of the article presents three key enactivist ideas that oppose them. First, the enactivist concept of cognition as action allows us to consider the first-person experience as a mode of action, and not as a state of the brain substrate. Second, the article deals with the “explanatory externalism” argument proposed by Noe, who refutes the image of cognition as a representation in the brain. Finally, in order to critically revise the concept of information as a unit of cognition, the author analyzes Cao’s idea, which represents a teleosemantic approach, but is in line with the general enactivist argumentation. Cao shows that the application of the concept “information” to neural processes is problematic: no naturalized information is found in the brain as a physical substrate. A critical revision of beliefs associated with the neural theory of consciousness leads us to recognize that there are not enough grounds for reducing consciousness to processes that take place in the brain. That is why Noe calls expectations that the visualization of processes taking place in the brain with the help of the modern equipment will be able to depict the experience of consciousness the “new phrenology”, thus indicating the naive character of neural reduction. The article concludes that natural science methods are insufficient for the study of consciousness.

scholarly journals Cerebral localization of the mind and higher functions The beginnings

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliasz Engelhardt
Keyword(s):  
Nervous Tissue ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Mental Functions ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Cerebral Localization ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Higher Mental Functions ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

Abstract The debates about the mind and its higher functions, and attempts to locate them in the body, have represented a subject of interest of innumerable sages since ancient times. The doubt concerning the part of the body that housed these functions, the heart (cardiocentric doctrine) or the brain (cephalocentric doctrine), drove the search. The Egyptians, millennia ago, held a cardiocentric view. A very long time later, ancient Greek scholars took up the theme anew, but remained undecided between the heart and the brain, a controversy that lasted for centuries. The cephalocentric view prevailed, and a new inquiry ensued about the location of these functions within the brain, the ventricles or the nervous tissue, which also continued for centuries. The latter localization, although initially inaccurate, gained traction. However, it represented only a beginning, as further studies in the centuries that followed revealed more precise definitions and localizations of the higher mental functions.

El problema mente-cerebro: sus origenes cartesianos

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Matínez Velasco
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Mental Process ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
Special Power ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

RESUMENEl artículo plantea la visión cartesiana del problema mente/cerebro y hace ver cómo su concepción ontológica dualista (mecanicismo/mentalismo), presente en su concepción del hombre, y de la que han participado otros eminentes estudiosos del problema, debe ser superada desde los planteamientos actuales de la neurociencia. No es necesario postular en el hombre una fuerza especial para explicar determinados fenómenos cognitivos. Debería bastar la actividad cerebral para explicar cualquier actividad humana, incluida la activad cognitiva. La mentalidad no es separable del cerebro, aunque también es cierto que se pueden simular determinadas operaciones cognitivas en un artefacto mecánico.PALABRAS CLAVEDESCARTES – DUALISMO – NEUROCIENCIA – MENTE ABSTRACTThe article discusses the Cartesian view of the mind/brain problema and shows how its dualistic ontological conception (mechanicism/mentalism), framed within his notion of man, equally assumed by other eminent specialists, should be overcome from the current statements of neuroscience. It is not necessary to acknowledge in man a special power to explain some cognitive phenomena. The neural activity should be enough to explain any human activity, the cognitive one included. The mental process cannot be separated from the brain, although in fact some cognitive operations can be simulated by a mechanic device.KEYWORDSDESCARTES – DUALISM – NEUROSCIENCE – MIND

The Importance of Disturbances of the Personality in Mental Disorders

1914 ◽  
Vol 60 (249) ◽  
pp. 192-224
Author(s):  
R. G. Rows
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

It is interesting at the present time to notice that disorders of the mind are being considered from a broader point of view. No longer is it reckoned sufficient to enumerate the psychic symptoms and to label the case accordingly. In the scientific journals it is not unusual to find the statement that a certain case does not fit into any division of our present-day classification. It is recognised that to describe a case as an atypical example of a disease is equivalent to saying that some factor has escaped our notice, or is one we cannot explain; that ætiology, from the psychogenic as well as the pathogenic point of view, must be considered, and that bodily and nervous symptoms may be as much a part of the illness as are the psychic; in fact, these last are often merely a symbol expressing some change in the function of an organ outside the brain.

scholarly journals Intervensi Inklusif Sukan Terhadap Murid Gangguan Kecelaruan Tumpuan dan Hiperaktif (ADHD)

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-143
Author(s):  
Mohd Arshad Yahya ◽  
Mohd Firdaus Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Time ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Sport Activities ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Special Education Program ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a form of disruption to the brain often experienced by growing children. ADHD children are often labelled as naughty by some. There are several forms of treatment that can be taken against this disorder such as the use of medication. However, the use of medicine will side effect such as loss appetite, disrupting sleep time and anxiety. This study was conducted by observing and recording anecdotes as a means of collecting data. The subject was an ADHD student who had undergone academic inclusiveness and also a special need athlete. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of sports inclusive intervention on the negative, physical behaviour and social of the student. The findings of the study show that sports inclusion interventions can reduce the negative behaviour of ADHD students and can be an alternative to medication treatment. The effect of this intervention is more harmonious with no side effects and impact for a long time. Sports activities also have goals such as the Individual Teaching Plan concept. In Malaysia, sports intervention is quite new in the Integrated Special Education Program. The impact of this study is expected to open the mind of all parties to make sure that sport activities for special needs students is conducted for the purpose of treatment. The cooperation of all parties including parents is important in this alternative treatment.

scholarly journals Attitude as an Expressible Info-Operational Reaction to a Perceived/Purposed Object/Objective

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
External Information ◽  
Psychological Concept ◽  
The Social ◽  
Controversial Problem ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

The definition of the psychological concept of attitude is still a controversial problem, and the scholars have not yet reached a consensus on this important issue. The attitude is defined in various ways, as a mental and emotional “construct” not directly detectable, or as a “psychological tendency expressed by evaluating a particular entity”. However, as attitude is an achievement of the mind during the exploration of reality, it is naturally to approach first of all the nature of mind and the relation with the cognition processes from the informational perspective. Therefore, in this paper it is investigated the concept of attitude from a completely new point of view, starting from the informational nature of consciousness. It is shown that the informational structure of consciousness can be fully described by the activity of seven distinct cognitive centers and the attitude can be defined actually as an informational reactive output with respect to an object/objective either perceived or mentally proposed. The attitude is thus the result of a decisional info-processing of an input internal or external information, expressible by the specific informational center managed by the brain associated with this activity, defined suggestively as I want. It is shown that attitude is consequently a function of all other six centers, which intervene in the decisional process as decisional criteria or as priority contributing components, and these centers can become dominant or inactive. In agreement with some previous studies and with the neuro-connections of specific regions of the brain, it is shown that emotions contribute to attitude, but also the personal state, the inherited predispositions, the social interactions, the life experience and the trust in the objective, if this is a proposed project. Associated with the attitude, behavior is different, depending on all cognitive centers.

A Contribution to the Study of Disorders of Visual Association in Insanity

1905 ◽  
Vol 51 (214) ◽  
pp. 491-507
Author(s):  
Sydney J. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Normal Individual ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mental Processes ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

The mental processes in relation to vision are disordered in many cases of mental disease, particularly in such as present the symptom of disorientation. The normal individual orientates himself in his environment mainly by the help of definite trains of visual ideas—such, for example, as are aroused in us when we glance round our room, go about the house, or take a walk out of doors. If a patient in an asylum thinks he is in his own home, and mistakes the attendants for his relatives, he is clearly unable to see how the present environment differs in aspect from the former environment in which he imagines himself. While from one point of view such a disability presents itself as a failure of memory, from another it appears as a form of mind-blindness, demonstrable by appropriate tests, and resembling in some ways the mind-blindness resulting from circumscribed coarse damage of the brain.

The Patient

2018 ◽  
pp. 19-37
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
The Self ◽  
The World ◽  
Clinical Point ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

This chapter addresses the issue of a stroke's impact on consciousness and the self, from a clinical point of view. We look at how the mind is seen by three experts—a neuroscientist, a brain surgeon, and a neuro-philosopher—and find that, instead of solving the mystery of the mind, they in fact add to it. Indeed, they all agree on the lingering mystery of consciousness, underneath and beyond the brain, as well as on the surprising rapport the self seems to establish to the world and its environment – in ways that are not constitutive to the brain itself. This suggests we might need to call on psychologists and sociologists next, to help us solve the conundrum of the self.

Neuroimaging, Uncertainty, and the Problem of Dispositions

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARDAR ÁRNASON
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Entire Range ◽  
Brain Research ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Psychological Understanding ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

Brain research in neuroscience and related fields is changing our understanding of the brain and its relation to the mind and to human behavior, giving a new impetus to the problem of free will and moral responsibility. The reactions have covered the entire range, from claims to the effect that neuroscientific research is showing that our folk–psychological understanding of conscious free will and moral responsibility is deeply mistaken to claims to the effect that neuroscientific research is irrelevant to moral issues of free will and responsibility. In any case, neuroscience is posing some serious challenges to our conceptions of free will and moral responsibility.

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