Brains, Neuroscience, and Animalism: On the Implications of Thinking Brains

Abstract

The neuroscience revolution has led many scientists to posit "expansive" or "thinking" brains that instantiate rich psychological properties. As a result, some scientists now even claim you are identical to such a brain. However, Eric Olson has offered new arguments that thinking brains cannot exist due to their intuitively "abominable" implications. After situating the commitment to thinking brains in the wider scientific discussions in which they are posited, I then critically assess Olson's arguments against such entities. Although highlighting an important insight, I show that Olson's objections to the existence of thinking brains fail and that a wider discussion engaging our new empirical findings is actually required in order to resolve the deeper issues.The wider intellectual landscape is marked by resurgent debates over "human nature," and it is also alive with what is now disparagingly termed "neuromania" in explorations of the neurosciences and their findings (Rose and Abi-Rached 2013). Linked to these developments are the increasing cases in which we find neuroscientists, and others, defending what I term the "Expansive Brain view"-namely, the position that we are identical to what I term "expansive" or "thinking" brains that can or do instantiate "rich psychological properties," such as remembering breakfast or fearing skin cancer, etc. 1 Interestingly, philosophical debates about what we are have been almost completely insulated from the waves of findings from the neurosciences and cannot be accused of falling into neuromania-far from it. Virtually no Carl Gillett is Professor of Philosophy at Northern Illinois University. His research areas are the philosophy of mind/psychology, the philosophy of science, and metaphysics. His book Reduction and Emergence in Science and Philosophy is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. 1 See Gazzaniga 2005, 31 and Panksepp and Biven 2012, for a couple of examples. Vidaloffers a review of such claims of "brainhood." I use the term 'expansive' brain to refer to brains which are taken to instantiate an expanded range of properties, including rich psychology.

Apie animalizmo banalumą

“…, Garrett (2003), Hudson (2007), Zimmerman (2008), Markosian (2008), Campbell, McMahan (2010), Noonan (2010), Nichols (2010), Gillett (2014). 3 Teiginiui, kad esame iš esmės asmenys, kaip ir iš esmės -gyvūnai, pritaria Sharpe'as (2015).…”