𝔖 Bobbio Scriptorium
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Brain, mind and limitations of a scientific theory of human consciousness

✍ Scribed by Alfred Gierer

Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Year
2008
Tongue
English
Weight
84 KB
Volume
30
Category
Article
ISSN
0265-9247

No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In biological terms, human consciousness appears as a feature associated with the functioning of the human brain. The corresponding activities of the neural network occur strictly in accord with physical laws; however, this fact does not necessarily imply that there can be a comprehensive scientific theory of consciousness, despite all the progress in neurobiology, neuropsychology and neurocomputation. Predictions of the extent to which such a theory may become possible vary widely in the scientific community. There are basic reasons—not only practical but also epistemological—why the brain–mind relation may never be fully “decodable” by general finite procedures. In particular self‐referential features of consciousness, such as self‐representations involved in strategic thought and dispositions, may not be resolvable in all their essential aspects by brain analysis. Assuming that such limitations exist, objective analysis by the methods of natural science cannot, in principle, fully encompass subjective, mental experience. BioEssays 30:499–505, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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