Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain by Patricia S. Churchland (PDF)

Description

Five chapters in the book’s first part, “Some Elementary Neuroscience,” sketch the history of the science of nervous systems and provide a general introduction to neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and neuropsychology. In the second part, “Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science,” chapters place the mind-body problem within the wider context of the philosophy of science. Drawing on recent research in this area, a general account of intertheoretic reduction is explained, arguments for a reductionist strategy are developed, and traditional objections from dualists and other anti reductionists are answered in novel ways. The third part, “A Neurophilosophical Perspective,” concludes the book with a presentation and discussion of some of the most promising theoretical developments currently under exploration in functional neurobiology and in the connectionist models within artificial intelligence research.A Bradford Book.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review – Karl H. Pribram, “Contemporary Psycholoqy”” Churchland writes with the authority of an insider.” – Philip Kitcher, “Nature”” Churchland’s approach is… refreshing, and it is well carried out …. I am going to use “Neurophilosophy “as the textbook in my graduate course in cognitive neuropsychology. For anyone interested in the ‘real’ CNS, this volume is by far the best that has come out of cognitive science.” – Karl H. Pribram, “Contemporary Psycholoqy””” Neurophilosophy” is a pioneering work. As our understanding of the brain develops, philosophers will need to know more about the function of its parts, while neuroscientists will increasingly confront philosophical issues. This perceptive, lively and informative book combines both approaches in ail up to date and very readable manner. ” – F.H.C. Crick, The Salk Institute& quot; Neurophilosophy is a pioneering work. As our understanding of the brain develops, philosophers will need to know more about the function of its parts, while neuroscientists will increasingly confront philosophical issues. This perceptive, lively and informative book combines both approaches in ail up to date and very readable manner. & quot; – F.H.C. Crick, The Salk Institute& quot; Churchland’s approach is… refreshing, and it is well carried out …. I am going to use Neurophilosophy as the textbook in my graduate course in cognitive neuropsychology. For anyone interested in the ‘real’ CNS, this volume is by far the best that has come out of cognitive science.& quot; – Karl H. Pribram, Contemporary Psycholoqy””Neurophilosophy” is a pioneering work. As our understanding of the brain develops, philosophers will need to know more about the function of its parts, while neuroscientists will increasingly confront philosophical issues. This perceptive, lively and informative book combines both approaches in ail up to date and very readable manner. “- F.H.C. Crick, The Salk Institute”Churchland writes with the authority of an insider.”- Philip Kitcher, “Nature””Churchland’s approach is… refreshing, and it is well carried out …. I am going to use “Neurophilosophy “as the textbook in my graduate course in cognitive neuropsychology. For anyone interested in the ‘real’ CNS, this volume is by far the best that has come out of cognitive science.”- Karl H. Pribram, “Contemporary Psycholoqy” Review Neurophilosophy is a pioneering work. As our understanding of the brain develops, philosophers will need to know more about the function of its parts, while neuroscientists will increasingly confront philosophical issues. This perceptive, lively and informative book combines both approaches in ail up to date and very readable manner.―F.H.C. Crick, The Salk Institute From the Back Cover ‘Neurophilosophy is exactly the introduction to the neurosciences that philosophers need, and exactly the introduction to philosophy of mind that neuroscientists need, and only someone who knew both fields very well could write it. This is a unique book. It is excellently written, crammed with information, wise and a pleasure to read.’ —Daniel C. Dennett, Tufts University About the Author Patricia S. Churchland is President’s Professor of Philosophy Emerita at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. She is the author of many books, including Neurophilosophy and Brain-Wise (both published by the MIT Press). Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Neuroscience is one of the fastest moving fields in science so a book written 24 years ago is bound to be a bit out of date. However, I think there is still a great deal in this book that is of philosophical value. It serves as a good introduction to Churchland’s eliminative materialism and the final chapter provides a very readable introduction to tensor network theory and connectionism (at least the general principles behind them).In the first part of the book Churchland discusses the basics of the theory of neurons, functional neuroanatomy, and various techniques for studying the brain. There is probably a great deal in the first section that is somewhat out of date (unfortunately, I am not knoweldgeable enough in neuroscience to know what is or is not out of date; I doubt much of the neuroanatomy is out of date though I am sure we know more than we did when the book was written).The second part of the book delves into issues relating to philosophy of science. In this section Churchland summarizes all the main arguments made against materialism and reductionism and provides excellent and well though out responses to those arguments. The book is worth reading for the second section alone. There is almost nothing that is out of date in the second section. People are still making essentially the same arguments today as they were when the book was written and Churchland’s spirited defense of materialism is still well worth reading.The final section is mostly about tensor network theory and connectionism. I know there has been a lot of work done on connectionism since this book was published and the introduction to connectionism in this volume is pretty sketchy. If you are interested in connectionism I would recommend looking elsewhere. However, Churchland does provide a very clear introduction to tensor-network theory so the last chapter is worth reading for that.I read this book over a stretch of almost a year (I moved and all my philosophy books were packed) so I am not really able to summarize the contents adequately. I wanted to write a review anyways, mainly to say: there is much in this book that is still relevant and it is still worth reading despite the fact that it is 24 years old. I learned a lot and I think many of Churchland’s arguments are valid and persuasive. That is all.

⭐Published over 17 years ago, this book was one of the first examples of the now accelerating trend to make philosophical investigations into the mind/brain problem accountable to modern science. Pure speculation once dominated any discussion of the mind (or the brain) and therefore progress in the field by any measure was non-existent. There are of course still purely philosophical investigations into the mind/body problem, but these will no doubt decay rapidly with time as scientific investigations continue to lay to rest various “impossibility” claims philosophers have made about the physical brain. Indeed, in this century, the rise of machine intelligence will hammer the last nail in the coffin of mind/brain philosophical speculation. The author of the book is a materialist, and in this book she has given an excellent justification of her position, and expresses at all times fairness to those who disagree with her positions and conclusions. She also expresses a rare intellectual honesty about the scientific evidence supporting her claims, informing the reader at every place in the book where it is not available or weak at best. Without a doubt the author was not happy at the state of philosophy at the time the book was published, holding that it completely omitted neuroscience, and embraced in her words “a novel and sophisticated form of dualism”. She explains this was ample reason for her to take the plunge into a more scientific/empirical framework. The book is an excellent example of what can result when a philosopher decides to do this. The book is divided up into three parts, with the first one emphasizing the biology of nervous systems and neuropsychology, the second part an overview of developments in the philosophy of science, and the third part discussing the ramifications of neurobiology for research in artificial intelligence. Although somewhat out of date due to the advancements in both experimental and theoretical neuroscience since then, it could still be of interest, mainly to philosophers, who are interested in applying their talent for logical thinking and organization to difficult problems in neuroscience. The transition from pure philosophical speculation to the rigors of scientific investigation may at first be difficult for the typical armchair philosopher, but their high degree of intelligence and their restless desire to get at the truth will soften it considerably. And in the decades ahead, one will witness the presence of “industrial philosophers”: those who have chosen to leave the “proverbial armchair” and apply their abilities to both understand and give rise to intelligent machines.

⭐The book has some interesting stuff in it, but her theory is borderline crazy (and some of her critiques of her opponents are strawmen). Though, I’m sure she’d just reply by saying that people said that about the world being round, and that her theory is just like that. But there is no reason to think that her theory isn’t crazy.

⭐it is a great book in understanding how the brain works, develops, from a deeply philosophical aspect. though I do not agree with some of the authors overt, and implied conclusions (which I will leave to the reader to discover on their own), I really enjoyed reading it and recommend it.

⭐Perfect!

⭐Great!

⭐Naught as a present

Keywords

Free Download Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain in PDF format
Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain PDF Free Download
Download Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain 1989 PDF Free
Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain 1989 PDF Free Download
Download Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain PDF
Free Download Ebook Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain