scholarly journals Brain in a Vat or Body in a World: Brainbound Versus Enactive View of Experience

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Thompson ◽  
Diego Cosmelli
Keyword(s):  
Thought Experiment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Living Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Neuronal Processes ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain In A Vat ◽  
Embodied Agent

We argue that the minimal biological requirements for consciousness include a living body, not just neuronal processes in the skull. Our argument proceeds by reconsidering the brain-in-a-vat thought experiment. Careful examination of this thought experiment indicates that the null hypothesis is that any adequately functional “vat” would be a surrogate body, that is, that the so-called vat would be no vat at all, but rather an embodied agent in the world. Thus, what the thought experiment actually shows is that the brain and body are so deeply entangled, structurally and dynamically, that they are explanatorily inseparable. Such entanglement implies that we cannot understand consciousness by considering only the activity of neurons apart from the body, and hence we have good explanatory grounds for supposing that the minimal realizing system forconsciousness includes the body and not just the brain. In this way, we put the brain-in-a-vat thought experiment to a new use, one that supports the “enactive” view that consciousness is a life-regulation process of the wholeorganism interacting with its environment.

The Empathic Screen

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittorio Gallese ◽  
Michele Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
The Body ◽  
Embodied Simulation ◽  
Moving Images ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
The World ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Full Metal Jacket ◽  
Film Experience ◽  
The Brain

Why do people go to the movies? What does it mean to watch a movie? To what extent does our perception of the fictional nature of movies differ from our daily perception of the real world? The authors, a neuroscientist and a film theorist, propose a new multidisciplinary approach to images and film that can provide answers to these questions. According to the authors, film art, based on the interaction between spectators and the world on the screen, and often described in terms of immersion, impressions of reality, simulation, and involvement of the spectator’s body in the fictitious world he inhabits, can be reconsidered from a neuroscientific perspective, which examines the brain and its close relationship to the body. They propose a new model of perception—embodied simulation—elaborated on the basis of neuroscientific investigation, to demonstrate the role played by sensorimotor and affect-related brain circuits in cognition and film experience. Scenes from famous films, like Notorious, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Persona, The Silence of the Lambs, and Toy Story are described and analyzed according to this multidisciplinary approach, and used as case studies to discuss the embodied simulation model. The aim is to shed new light on the multiple resonance mechanisms that constitute one of the great secrets of cinematographic art, and to reflect on the power of moving images, which increasingly are part of our everyday life.

scholarly journals Human Development IX: A Model of the Wholeness of Man, His Consciousness, and Collective Consciousness

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1454-1459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Tyge Dahl Hermansen ◽  
Trine Flensborg-Madsen ◽  
Erik Rald ◽  
Maj Lyck Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Chemistry ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
The Body ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
Outer World ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
The Brain

In this paper we look at the rational and the emotional interpretation of reality in the human brain and being, and discuss the representation of the brain-mind (ego), the body-mind (Id), and the outer world in the human wholeness (the I or “soul”). Based on this we discuss a number of factors including the coherence between perception, attention and consciousness, and the relation between thought, fantasies, visions and dreams. We discuss and explain concepts as intent, will, morals and ethics. The Jungian concept of the human collective conscious and unconscious is also analyzed. We also hypothesis on the nature of intuition and consider the source of religious experience of man. These phenomena are explained based on the concept of deep quantum chemistry and infinite dancing fractal spirals making up the energetic backbone of the world. In this paper we consider man as a real wholeness and debate the concepts of subjectivity, consciousness and intent that can be deduced from such a perspective.

Cosmos in the head?

2017 ◽  
pp. 3-28
Author(s):  
Thomas Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Lived Body ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
Outer World ◽  
The World ◽  
Internal Modelling ◽  
Subjective Space ◽  
The Brain

‘Cosmos in the head’ contains a criticism of the neuroconstructivist epistemology, according to which phenomenal reality is to be understood as an internal modelling of the outer world in the brain. As it turns out, the idealistic theory of representation is still the basis of this conception. The criticism emphasizes, in contrast, the enactive character of perception which is always connected with the engagement of the body in the world. In order to show that the subjective space of the lived body is not only virtual, its coextension with the space of the objective body or the entire organism is demonstrated. On this basis, the objectifying achievement of perception, which brings us into direct connection with the world by means of circular interactions, can be recognized. Finally, taking the example of colours, the claim of a mere virtuality of perceived qualities is rejected.

scholarly journals Weaponization of the body and politicization of death

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siamak Movahedi
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Biological Entity ◽  
Social Event ◽  
Characteristic Mode ◽  
Dead Person ◽  
Living Body ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Suicide Notes ◽  
The World ◽  
Impending Death

The paper examines the psychology of martyrdom through the analysis of death speeches, the final letters, wills, and testaments left behind by men in the Middle East who undertook suicidal missions in war. The author maintains that the human body is as much a social object as it is a biological entity, and death is as much a social event as it is a physical happening. The biologically living body may be symbolically dead, and the physically dead person may be more powerful than the living. A communication that a person makes while he or she is anticipating an impending death is an overloaded message, comparable to the first or the last dream in psychoanalysis. It may provide important clues not only to the person's immediate psychic experience, but also to one's characteristic mode of encounter with the object world. Final letters, near-death or suicide notes have a particularly demanding, commanding, and pleading quality. The author finds several modes of communication and metacommunication in the notes: disengaged, abstract, and intimate, each differently conveying their thoughts, fantasies, and relatedness to the world, God, justice, vengeance, death, immortality, loved ones, and enemies.

scholarly journals The Croonian Lecture. On the irritability of nerves

1832 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 33-35
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Annular Ligament ◽  
Living Body ◽  
First Case ◽  
Middle Aged Person ◽  
Aged Person ◽  
Healthy State ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Real State ◽  
Different Parts

Its object is principally to investigate the opinion hitherto entertained, that the nerves may be considered as chords that have no power of contraction within themselves, but only serve as a medium by means of which the influence of the brain may be communicated to the muscles, and the impressions made upon the different parts of the body may be conveyed to the brain. After pointing out the extreme difficulty of such an inquiry, owing to the few opportunities that offer for investigating the real state of the nerves in the living body, Mr. Home intimates that he resolved to avail himself of every opportunity that might offer of any operation in surgery performed upon nerves, either in a healthy state, or under the influence of disease, in order to elucidate this intricate point, without neglecting certain experiments he thought he could devise upon animal bodies, before they are wholly deprived of life. The first case, which explains some circumstances respecting the actions of the nerves when under the influence of disease, was that of a middle-aged person, who, having hurt his thumb by a fall, experienced long after an occasional swelling and convulsions in that part, attended with spasms, which at times extended in the direct course of the trunks of the radial nerve up to the head, the patient being at times afflicted with absolute insensibility. In order to put a stop to the progress of tips irritation, which seemed to constitute the disease, it was proposed to divide the nerve as it passes from under the annular ligament of the wrist. This operation was accordingly performed, but not altogether with the desired success, owing probably to the wound not healing by the first intention.

Les Caves Du Vatican and Bergson's Le Rire

PMLA ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-335
Author(s):  
John Keith Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
The Body ◽  
Living Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Body And Soul

An analysis of Les Caves in terms of Le Rire reveals the nature of Gidian comedy, at the same time establishing an affinity between Bergson and Gide. Bergson's thesis is that comedy springs from the conflict between mechanical and living, body and soul, inanimate and animate. Even wordplay and farce find a place in this context. The presentation of comedy requires detachment on the part of the author, an effect which Gide successfully achieves in this novel. Comedy criticises hypocrisy, whether it be social or individual. Gide criticises forms of hypocrisy arising from inadequate awareness of immediate exigencies. Amédée, central to the theme of comic conflict, is central to the action and structure of Les Caves. Anthime reveals the aspirations of the soul in comic conflict with the limitations of the body. Protos manipulates social groups and individuals mechanically but cannot escape the consequences of the game he has initiated. Lafcadio, desiring spontaneity, in conflict with the logical Julius, lives out an inconsequential dream. For both authors the contradictions of the world of dreams reveal parallels with the world of comedy.

scholarly journals A Review on Neuronutrition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aruthra Devi ◽  
Rita Narayanan
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
The Body ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Memory Problems ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Need ◽  
The Brain

Nutrition is a basic human need and a prerequisite to a healthy life. Since it is bonded with food, it is essential to advocate nutrition in terms of food. A proper diet is important from the very early stages (gestation period) of life for proper growth and development. Neuronutrition portrays how food affects the brain and its function. Brain is where the performances begin and end. It monitors and controls all the energy metabolism of the body and it never stops working. Neuronutrition is the nutrition needed to achieve healthy brain and good neurocognitive function. Dietary manipulations are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities and protecting the brain from damage. No single food is key to good brain health but rather a combination of food. Neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, mental fatigue, and memory problems are prevalent across the world, and this opens the door to provide tailormade products which cater to consumer's desire for better neuronutrition.

scholarly journals How Morphological Computation Shapes Integrated Information in Embodied Agents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlotta Langer ◽  
Nihat Ay
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Information Flows ◽  
Morphological Computation ◽  
The One ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Integrated Information Theory ◽  
Embodied Agent ◽  
Integrated Information

The Integrated Information Theory provides a quantitative approach to consciousness and can be applied to neural networks. An embodied agent controlled by such a network influences and is being influenced by its environment. This involves, on the one hand, morphological computation within goal directed action and, on the other hand, integrated information within the controller, the agent's brain. In this article, we combine different methods in order to examine the information flows among and within the body, the brain and the environment of an agent. This allows us to relate various information flows to each other. We test this framework in a simple experimental setup. There, we calculate the optimal policy for goal-directed behavior based on the “planning as inference” method, in which the information-geometric em-algorithm is used to optimize the likelihood of the goal. Morphological computation and integrated information are then calculated with respect to the optimal policies. Comparing the dynamics of these measures under changing morphological circumstances highlights the antagonistic relationship between these two concepts. The more morphological computation is involved, the less information integration within the brain is required. In order to determine the influence of the brain on the behavior of the agent it is necessary to additionally measure the information flow to and from the brain.

scholarly journals A siket jelnyelv jelentősége a kommunikációs kultúra átalakulásának tükrében

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Balázs Kékesi ◽  
Attila Márton Farkas
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
The Body ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
The World ◽  
Embodied Cognitive Science ◽  
The Brain

A megtestesült kogníció hipotézisre építő kognitív nyelvészet szemszögéből vizsgálva a siket jelnyelv éppoly komplex és természetes nyelv, mint bármely beszélt nyelv. Ebben a megközelítésben a gesztusnyelv és a szónyelv szemantikáját egyaránt meghatározza az agy-test-környezet interakció. A környezetben történő számtalan cselekvési szituáció kognitív szinten rögzülő konzekvenciái, továbbá az interaktív szituációk szimulatív rekonstrukciója kulcsszerepet játszik a nyelvi kommunikáció és megértés folyamataiban. A tanulmány a megtestesült kogníció kutatásra támaszkodva a testhasználat és a nyelvhasználat közti szoros kapcsolatot mutatja be, majd a szituált konceptualizáció tézisének alapján a siket jelnyelv és a szónyelv közötti azonos szerkezeti alapok mellett hoz érveket. A tanulmány célja a siketekkel szembeni negatív előítéletek rombolása a kortárs kognitív tudomány segítségével, rámutatva arra, hogy a jelnyelv korántsem kezdetleges és fejletlen a szónyelvhez képest, sőt, a siket jelnyelvi kifejezések mutatják meg igazán, hogyan is működik a nyelv maga. Továbbá rámutatunk arra, hogy a vizuális természetű gesztusnyelv kognitív nyelvészeti megközelítése közelebb vihet az információs társadalomban egyre nagyobb szerepet kapó képi kommunikáció működésének jobb megértéséhez. --- The significance of deaf sign language within the context of communication culture’s transformation It seems clear when investigating sign language and verbal languages from the perspective of embodied cognition hypotheses based cognitive linguistics that both kinds of languages are natural. In this approach, the semantics of sign and verbal languages are equally assigned by the brain-body-environment interaction. The cognitive consequences of the numerous interactions with the world, and the cognitive ability to simulate those interactions in off-line mode, de-coupled from the environment, are crucial for gaining an understanding of communication and meaning. This paper throws light on the connection between the body and language from the perspective of embodied cognitive science, and argues that situated conceptualization is the most suitable thesis to understand the semantics of both sign and verbal languages. An additional aim of the paper is to help to reduce prejudice against deaf people by demonstrating that deaf sign language is far from being primitive, and moreover, it will show that sign language can facilitate a better understanding of how verbal languages really work. Keywords: embodied cognition, cognitive linguistics, conceptualization, sign language, prejudices

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