Philosophy of the Brain

The brain problem

Georg Northoff
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
"What is the mind?"

"What is the relationship between brain and mind?"

These are common questions. But "What is the brain?" is a rare question in both the neurosciences and philosophy. The reason for this may lie in the brain itself: Is there a "brain problem"?

In this fresh and innovative book, Georg Northoff demonstrates that there is in fact a "brain problem". He argues that our brain can only be understood when its empirical functions are directly related to the modes of acquiring knowledge, our epistemic abilities and inabilities. Drawing on the latest neuroscientific data and philosophical theories, he provides an empirical-epistemic definition of the brain. Northoff reveals the basic conceptual confusion about the relationship between mind and brain that has so obstinately been lingering in both neuroscience and philosophy. He subsequently develops an alternative framework where the integration of the brain within body and environment is central. This novel approach plunges the reader into the depths of our own brain. The "Philosophy of the Brain" that emerges opens the door to a fascinating world of new findings that explore the mind and its relationship to our very human brain. (Series A)
[Advances in Consciousness Research, 52]  2004.  x, 433 pp.
Publishing status: Available
HardboundAvailable
ISBN 9789027251831 (Eur) | EUR 99.00
ISBN 9781588114167 (USA) | USD 149.00
 
PaperbackAvailable
ISBN 9789027251848 (Eur) | EUR 68.00
ISBN 9781588114174 (USA) | USD 102.00
 
e-BookSold by e-book platforms
ISBN 9789027295873 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00
 
Google EditionForthcoming
ISBN 9789027295873 | EUR 68.00 | USD 102.00
 
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
ix
1. The ‘Brain problem’: 'Mind problems', hypothesis of ‘embedment’ and the neurophilosophical method
1–57
2. Neuroepistemological account of the brain: ‘Epistemic-empirical relationship’
59–174
3. ‘Philosophy of the brain’: Empirical hypothesis of the brain, ‘epistemology of the brain’ and ‘ontology of the brain’
175–335
4. The ‘Embedded brain’: ‘Mind problems’, hypothesis of 'Embedment', and ‘Paradigm shifts’
337–364
References
365–401
Author index
403–404
Subject index
405–429

Quotes

“This novel approach plunges into the depths of their own brains. Fresh and innovative, the Philosophy of the Brain that emerges opens the door to a fascinating world of new findings that explore the mind and its relationship to our very human brain.”
SirReadaLot.org, November 2004

Subjects

Benjamins Subject classification

Philosophy

BIC Subject

JMT: States of consciousness

BISAC Subject

PSY008000: PSYCHOLOGY / Cognitive Psychology
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2003054589
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