341: The Mystery of the Brain Resumed

Welcome everyone (^_^)
It is good to see you here again. In a way this is a festive moment, for this is the 5th year, that I begin my series of lectures on the first of September.

I have done a number of projects, but the present one, still "The Mystery of the Brain", is my most cherished one, because it is the direct follow up of the thesis I defended in 1977 at the university.

In the 80s an avalanche of new information and scientific knowledge about the brain and consequently the mind has come down over us.

September 2010 I began with the project "The Mystery of the Brain" and for pragmatic reasons I told you, that we wouldn't discuss metaphysics for a while but assume a materialist point of view.

This fitted in perfectly well with the number of subjects, which we have discussed so far. We explored, what Bruce M. Hood named our "Supersense" and its function.

We traveled through many examples of the functioning of the brain in relation to what we believe is real. We learnt about fMRI scans of the brain. Ran into a highly questionable use of it, to check whether somebody was telling the truth of not.

We studied the brain machine and how it is driven by a set of basic emotions which we to a high extend share with other mammals on this earth.

But the most important what you can have learnt is, that our notion of the human being has gone through a number of fundamental paradigmatic changes during the past 500 years.

Time and again we had to answer the question for the meaning of man, the meaning of our existence in a different way due to paradigmatic shifts.

Galileo Galilei removed us around 1610 from the center of the universe. Charles Darwin showed in 1859 that we are a part of nature, not above nature.

Around 1900 Sigmund Freud made clear to us that we are not only consciousness, but that there also exists an influential subconsciousness.

In 1953, James D. Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first correct double-helix model of DNA structure in the journal Nature.

And all of a sudden life in its qualities became something , which can be manipulated and for instance genetically changed or as some say, improved.

In the past year I have demonstrated to you that now again we are confronted with a fundamental paradigmatic shift regarding the answer of our basic question for the meaning of life.

Who still believes that man is primarily the product of his rational thinking, is wrong. Subconsciously, we take numerous decisions. The idea that we are the rationally calculating person, who decides based on free will, is taken from us.

Many contemporary psychologist, neuroscientist are now convinced that the homo sapiens mainly is a bag of primary emotions, which are the real, often subconscious drive behind his actions.

In relation to the almost 2 million years of our evolution as homo sapiens in a relatively short time of hardly 500 years we moved from the center of the universe and the stewards of creation to being a sometimes even harmful part of the ecosystem of this planet.

Actually not a bad achievement to put us in our right place in relatively such a short time. Wow…"right place" ???? That really is a big assumption !!!

Yes, that will be our next target. What to do with this avalanche of neurobiological data, with the thesis "We are our brain". Till today we have kept the real philosophical questions in the background.

It was a pragmatic choice, so that I could present to you all these new data about the brain / mind which had emerged since the 80s. But that is over now. We have heard enough.

The next series of lectures will focus on our main theme: the philosophy of mind. All that science looks so convincing and has an enormous impact on our ideas about the meaning of life.

But is it philosophically all that simple and straightforward. Will it be the neuroscientists, who tell us that philosophy (of Mind) is dead? I don't think so….

The Discussion
[13:28] herman Bergson: Thank you.....
[13:28] herman Bergson: The floor is yours
[13:28] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): very good
[13:28] Bejiita Imako: ㋡
[13:28] Bejiita Imako: interesting
[13:28] Qwark Allen: ::::::::: * E * X * C * E * L * L * E * N * T * ::::::::::
[13:28] bergfrau Apfelbaum: ***** APPPPPPPLLLLAAAUUUSSSSEEEEEEE***********
[13:28] herman Bergson: thank you....
[13:29] Adriana Jinn: thank you herman
[13:29] herman Bergson: But the show still has to begin now..:-)
[13:29] Adriana Jinn: real interesting herman
[13:29] herman Bergson: Now we go for the real thing!
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: oki
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: ㋡
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: YAY! (yay!)
[13:29] Adriana Jinn: yes
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: can be interesting
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: the things before was for sure
[13:29] herman Bergson: Oh yes Bejiita...
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: )
[13:29] Qwark Allen: getting more interesting even
[13:29] Bejiita Imako: a
[13:30] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): i actually heard a neurobiologist say that he believes that the current developments in internet tech is actually changing the shape of the brain... allowing a better ability to focus and change from one thing to another in the mind more quickly
[13:30] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): I'm Sorry! for 2 lines
[13:30] Doodus Moose: once i see how a special effect is done in the movies, it seems less "magic" - i hope this won't be the same for our minds
[13:30] herman Bergson smiles
[13:30] herman Bergson: You have that privilege Gemma !
[13:30] Adriana Jinn: smiles doodus
[13:30] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): ♥ LOL ♥
[13:31] herman Bergson: But what the man said is bull in my opinion :-)
[13:31] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): we will see
[13:31] herman Bergson: No..Dooodus...
[13:31] herman Bergson: I think that after all the neuro science info....
[13:31] herman Bergson: philosophy will show you that the mind is more magic than science can tell!
[13:32] Doodus Moose:
[13:32] Doodus Moose: i'll continue to insist i'm worth more than the sum of my parts :-)
[13:32] herman Bergson: that is the whole point Doodus!!!!!
[13:33] herman Bergson: You are more than the sum of your neurons...
[13:33] herman Bergson: Just be patient...
[13:33] herman Bergson: When we try to understand consciousness in relation to the brain...
[13:34] herman Bergson: such a tough problem.. !
[13:34] Qwark Allen: we`ll get there
[13:34] herman Bergson: yes Qwark..
[13:34] herman Bergson: I'l start at the beginning...
[13:34] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): not sure the more we learn the more questions we seem to have
[13:34] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): there is no end
[13:35] Qwark Allen: that is a good sign always
[13:35] Bejiita Imako: ㋡
[13:35] Adriana Jinn: smiles
[13:35] herman Bergson: No Gemma..if there were, we would be just machines...
[13:35] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): right
[13:35] herman Bergson: clockworks.....and maybe orange too then
[13:36] Doodus Moose: the logical conclusion is: we're confronted with a near-infinity of unanswered questions just before death :-)
[13:36] Doodus Moose: ... then we get the answer to everything :-)
[13:36] herman Bergson: Yes Doodus
[13:37] herman Bergson: well after death...I'd prefer to be just dead...
[13:37] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): :-)
[13:37] Adriana Jinn: smiles
[13:37] Doodus Moose: dead? seems like such a waste of time
[13:37] herman Bergson: no ado about answers and questions plz :-)
[13:37] herman Bergson: a waste of time????
[13:38] herman Bergson: Just imagine that after death you have to live for eternity...!!!!!
[13:38] herman Bergson: thta would drive me mad...!
[13:38] oola Neruda: all men are mortal
[13:38] Doodus Moose: i'm looking forwards to my own personal "millenium falcon"
[13:38] Alaya Kumaki: well, if its not eternity it might be as here
[13:38] herman Bergson: You got it oola...Simone de Beauvoir!
[13:38] oola Neruda: nods
[13:38] Adriana Jinn: but perhaps have to learn lots of thing after ?
[13:38] :: Beertje :: (beertje.beaumont): sorry i have to go..thank you Herman
[13:39] herman Bergson: take care Beertje ^_^
[13:39] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): Bye, Bye ㋡
[13:39] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): see you soon
[13:39] Qwark Allen: ˜*•. ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Bye ! •°*”˜.•°*”˜ .•*˜ ㋡
[13:39] Doodus Moose: take care, Gemma
[13:39] Adriana Jinn: bye bye beerje
[13:39] Bejiita Imako: cberg
[13:40] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): not me .. beertje
[13:40] herman Bergson: well...
[13:40] bergfrau Apfelbaum: byebye, Bejiiita :-)
[13:40] Bejiita Imako: cu ㋡
[13:40] Bejiita Imako: hugs
[13:40] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): WaaaHaHAhahAHA! AhhhhHAhahhAHhahHAH! haha!
[13:40] Qwark Allen: ehehhehe
[13:40] herman Bergson: I think we are ready for phase 2 then!
[13:40] Bejiita Imako: hm yes
[13:40] Adriana Jinn: yes
[13:40] herman Bergson: HEy..Itsme is here too!!!!
[13:41] Qwark Allen: ㋡ ˜*•. ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Helloooooo! •°*”˜.•°*”˜ .•*˜ ㋡
[13:41] Qwark Allen: Hey! ITSME
[13:41] Alaya Kumaki: lol
[13:41] herman Bergson: hey man..where have you been...
[13:41] Alaya Kumaki: funny name,:))
[13:41] oola Neruda: hey Itsme
[13:41] Alaya Kumaki: hi^^
[13:41] Adriana Jinn: hi
[13:41] itsme Frederix: I've been existing
[13:41] bergfrau Apfelbaum accepted your inventory offer.
[13:41] Bejiita Imako: h Itsme
[13:41] Alaya Kumaki: do you live at itsmeland?
[13:41] itsme Frederix: hi all
[13:41] itsme Frederix: glad to see you, but please continue
[13:42] bergfrau Apfelbaum: hey!!! itsyou!!! good to see you!!
[13:42] herman Bergson: well...I think we dealt with all problems of the world now Itsme..:-)
[13:42] herman Bergson: We are done
[13:42] herman Bergson: all is well :-)
[13:43] itsme Frederix: so I came in the right time
[13:43] Doodus Moose: time to get all smoky......byeeee!!!!
[13:43] herman Bergson: unless you still have a question, of course ^_^
[13:43] itsme Frederix: I would not dare
[13:43] herman Bergson: good!
[13:43] Alaya Kumaki: i do have one, only, can i havea copy paste of yur today s text?
[13:43] herman Bergson: Then I thank you all for your participation ...^_^
[13:43] Alaya Kumaki: because i arrive late
[13:44] Qwark Allen: ˜*•. ˜”*°•.˜”*°• Bye ! •°*”˜.•°*”˜ .•*˜ ㋡
[13:44] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): ♥ Thank Youuuuuuuuuu!! ♥
[13:44] Bejiita Imako: Hooo!!!
[13:44] Bejiita Imako: Hoooo!
[13:44] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): it will all be in the blog
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum: i must go :-(((( tysm! herman and class!! see u tuesday
[13:44] Qwark Allen: looking foward for tuesday
[13:44] herman Bergson: Have a nice weekend you all:-)
[13:44] Qwark Allen: :-)))
[13:44] Adriana Jinn: bye bye and thank so much
[13:44] Gemma Allen (gemma.cleanslate): you too
[13:44] Bejiita Imako: this was nice for sure
[13:44] herman Bergson: See you all next Tuesday...
[13:44] Adriana Jinn: same to you herman
[13:44] Bejiita Imako: euntil next time cu ㋡
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum: byebye+ all
[13:44] herman Bergson: And Gemma..you are excuses when being late
[13:44] Adriana Jinn: bye bye for now
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum:
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum: .,¡i|¹i¡¡i¹|i¡,. .,¡i|¹i¡¡i¹|i¡,.
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum: `'¹li¡|¡|¡il¹'` `'¹li¡|¡|¡il¹'`
[13:44] bergfrau Apfelbaum:
[13:44] Adriana Jinn: have a nice end of evening
[13:45] Bejiita Imako: ㋡
[13:46] herman Bergson: lol...Adriana...
[13:47] herman Bergson: A pitty you missed the lecture Itsme..

339: The materialist Brain 5

In fact it is an amazing observation, that a religion, a system of beliefs, in this case christianity, has been able to block the development of science for so many centuries.

The classic proof of this use of power is of course the case of Copernicus and Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642).

Not only in science was religious thinking powerful. Also in philosophy it was able to keep materialism as an ontology outside for at least 1500 years.

When the development of science couldn't be stopped anymore and Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) formulated a real materialist philosophy, Descartes (1595 - 1650) saved the day by introducing his Dualism.

In those days you could be ACCUSED of atheism. But then the term "atheist" was frequently applied to people who believed in God, but not divine providence,

or to people who believed in God but also maintained other beliefs which were inconsistent with such belief.

Religion in this context is not the personal belief of an individual, but the system of cultural, social and political power of an organization.

An organization that demands to believe in certain things and forbids to believe certain other things. It even had an Index, a list of books which, tho published, were forbidden for catholics.

In line with this historical development it is not at all surprising that in recent years books like "The End of Faith" (2004) by Sam Harris or "The God Delusion" (2006) by Richard Dawkins were published.

Today neuroscientists can stimulate certain parts of the brain, which gives people certain experiences, which can be describes as religious experiences. A subject I have elaborated on in my lectures 286 to 289.

This all is a general development in Western Europe and in science in general. The triumphant progress in the twentieth century of a materialistic biology and biochemistry has almost completely eliminated vitalist notions of living forms as governed by forces additional to, and distinct from, the purely physical forces operating
on inanimate matter.

The situation of earlier ages has been reversed; it now seems implausible to maintain that the vital functions of living organisms are different in kind from chemical (ultimately, physical) processes.

In the realm of the mind, a new challenge for immaterialists has also developed. The rise of cybernetics (the abstract theory of machines) and its applications in computers threatens the idea of a special status for mental activity.

In the 1920s and 1930s some logical positivists, led by Rudolph Carnap and Otto Neurath, espoused an epistemic materialism. They held that the meaning of any statement consists in the directly testable statements deducible from it.

Inner states, however, can not be tested directly. Thence , testable physical statements should be deduced from inner states.

With testable was meant statements that were suitable for intersubjective agreement. Therefor these logical positivist regarded statements about behavior suitable candidates as "translation" of inner states.

This meant, that In this way the philosophy of language led to a behaviorist materialism and as such became an important development in the philosophy of mind with for instance, a philosopher like Gilbert Ryle with "The concept of Mind" (1949).

Ryle asserted that the workings of the mind are not distinct from the actions of the body. They are one and the same.

Mental vocabulary is, he insists, merely a different manner of describing action. He also claimed that the nature of a person's motives is defined by that person's dispositions to act in certain situations.

This was one of the first modern attacks on cartesian dualism and the definite rise of materialism in philosophy and science.


The Discussion

[2011/06/28 14:16] druth Vlodovic: well, science, since it often promotes change, is really the purview of young or transitional societies
[2011/06/28 14:16] Simargl Talaj: Nothing like a war to stimulate interest in technology.
[2011/06/28 14:16] druth Vlodovic: wb professor
[2011/06/28 14:16] druth Vlodovic: established societies will prefer changelessness because they like what they have
[2011/06/28 14:16] Carmela Sandalwood: when it comes to a question of existence or non-existence, societies will often allow questions they wouldn't otherwise allow
[2011/06/28 14:17] druth Vlodovic: in times of peace (or wars that don't actuallt threaten existence) then it is the other way around, questions become the greatest danger
[2011/06/28 14:17] herman Bergson: I am sorry....dont seem to have any stabe viewer at all anymore
[2011/06/28 14:18] druth Vlodovic: you should check your lag meter, see if it is server, connection, or your computer
[2011/06/28 14:18] herman Bergson: I am glad I maned through this lecture and discussion
[2011/06/28 14:19] herman Bergson: Druth..if I would tell you what I already had done.....
[2011/06/28 14:19] Tauto: i wish i could stay more and listen but need to leave now.
[2011/06/28 14:19] druth Vlodovic: lol, it was just a suggestion
[2011/06/28 14:19] Tauto: thank you herman and Simargl, Camela, druth for good discussion.
[2011/06/28 14:19] druth Vlodovic: please don't hit meeee!
[2011/06/28 14:19] Simargl Talaj: Herman would you be so kind as to give us the website once again that lists the books on neurobiology that pertain to this set of your lectures?
[2011/06/28 14:19] herman Bergson: take care Tauto
[2011/06/28 14:20] Carmela Sandalwood: take care tauto
[2011/06/28 14:20] Carmela Sandalwood: care
[2011/06/28 14:20] Carmela Sandalwood: I have to go soon also...need to get dinner going
[2011/06/28 14:20] Tauto: thank you bye all~
[2011/06/28 14:20] Tauto: :)
[2011/06/28 14:20] herman Bergson: Byeeee!!! :-)
[2011/06/28 14:20] Doodus Moose: byeeee!!!!!
[2011/06/28 14:20] Carmela Sandalwood: thank you very much for the class and discussion professor
[2011/06/28 14:21] herman Bergson: My pleasure Carmela..you were great
[2011/06/28 14:21] herman Bergson: interesting input....
[2011/06/28 14:21] Carmela Sandalwood: well, I am in math and physics and have a great interest in computers
[2011/06/28 14:21] Carmela Sandalwood: and am a materialist in the philosophical sense
[2011/06/28 14:22] herman Bergson: And have knowledge of history!
[2011/06/28 14:22] Carmela Sandalwood: *smiles* I try to learn
[2011/06/28 14:22] Carmela Sandalwood: it was a pleasure...so no more classes for a while?
[2011/06/28 14:23] herman Bergson: only coming thursday...last class
[2011/06/28 14:23] Carmela Sandalwood: ok...I will attempt to be there
[2011/06/28 14:23] herman Bergson: you are welcome :-)
[2011/06/28 14:24] Simargl Talaj: Thank you Herman.
[2011/06/28 14:24] Doodus Moose: Professor - you're the best. we'll talk before September
[2011/06/28 14:24] herman Bergson: ohh thank you Doodus...
[2011/06/28 14:25] Doodus Moose: looks like you're cleaning up, Prof!
[2011/06/28 14:25] Doodus Moose: byeeeee!!!!!!
[2011/06/28 14:26] herman Bergson: more cosy :-)
[2011/06/28 14:26] druth Vlodovic: :)
[2011/06/28 14:26] druth Vlodovic: have you ever heard the idea of "emergent properties"?
[2011/06/28 14:26] druth Vlodovic: it was last weeks topic at thothica
[2011/06/28 14:26] herman Bergson: yes...
[2011/06/28 14:27] herman Bergson: but it is a bit misleading idea...
[2011/06/28 14:27] druth Vlodovic: my first reaction was that it is a last ditch attempt to recover magical thinking in science
[2011/06/28 14:27] druth Vlodovic: misleading how?
[2011/06/28 14:28] herman Bergson: exactly....it has a dualistic character
[2011/06/28 14:28] herman Bergson: to emerge is an action which needs a force....
[2011/06/28 14:28] herman Bergson: so...emerging properties are properties created by some force...
[2011/06/28 14:28] herman Bergson: and that is bull ^_^
[2011/06/28 14:29] druth Vlodovic: either from a smaller base or interaction with other factors
[2011/06/28 14:29] druth Vlodovic: oh, by "some force"you meant an unknown one
[2011/06/28 14:30] herman Bergson: It suggest that there is some mystic energy in matter that makes properties emerge...
[2011/06/28 14:30] druth Vlodovic: yes
[2011/06/28 14:30] herman Bergson: complete nonsense
[2011/06/28 14:30] druth Vlodovic: they didn't like my arguments ;-?
[2011/06/28 14:30] herman Bergson: lol
[2011/06/28 14:31] herman Bergson: you have been too long in my class perhaps :-)
[2011/06/28 14:31] druth Vlodovic: it is a good kludge I guess, you can work with larger scale without learning smaller scale
[2011/06/28 14:31] druth Vlodovic: but as an idea I think it leads to a type of thinking that is potentially damaging
[2011/06/28 14:31] druth Vlodovic: I wish I could get to more of them
[2011/06/28 14:31] druth Vlodovic: my RL schedule is weird
[2011/06/28 14:32] herman Bergson: doesn't matter...
[2011/06/28 14:32] herman Bergson: when you are here..all is good :-)
[2011/06/28 14:32] druth Vlodovic: :)
[2011/06/28 14:32] druth Vlodovic: you'll turn my head, I swear!
[2011/06/28 14:32] herman Bergson: turn your head???
[2011/06/28 14:33] herman Bergson: I'd love to keep it in place where it is!
[2011/06/28 14:34] druth Vlodovic: what are your big plans now your students have abandoned you?
[2011/06/28 14:34] herman Bergson: They didn't abandon me..lol..they just went home or elsewhere ;-)
[2011/06/28 14:35] herman Bergson: And I have no plans at all