Abstract Eliminative materialists argue that we can overcome the phenomenological gap between two different ways of referring to our subjective experiences – either as introspectively grasped in terms of folk psychology or as explained in neurological terms – by abandoning the pre-scientific concepts of folk psychology. However, unless these theorists can offer a plausible explanation for why the scientific view of the human mind proposed by cognitive neuroscience is so deeply counter-intuitive, this argument will remain unconvincing. In order to address the difficulties involved in making the paradigm shift from folk psychology to cognitive neuroscience I (a) briefly review the theoretical revolution that marked the tran- sition from classical mechanics to the theory of relativity at the beginning of 20th century; (b) identify some similarities between this paradigm shift in physics and the birth of a new scientific view of the mind; (c) explain by means of (a) and (b) why neurological theories that reduce consciousness and the Self to aspects of brain dynamics appear implausible from a common sense perspective despite being sound from a scientific point of view.

Nannini, S. (2015). Time and Consciousness in Cognitive Naturalism. RIVISTA INTERNAZIONALE DI FILOSOFIA E PSICOLOGIA, 6(3), 458-473 [10.4453/rifp.2015.0044].

Time and Consciousness in Cognitive Naturalism

NANNINI, SANDRO
2015-01-01

Abstract

Abstract Eliminative materialists argue that we can overcome the phenomenological gap between two different ways of referring to our subjective experiences – either as introspectively grasped in terms of folk psychology or as explained in neurological terms – by abandoning the pre-scientific concepts of folk psychology. However, unless these theorists can offer a plausible explanation for why the scientific view of the human mind proposed by cognitive neuroscience is so deeply counter-intuitive, this argument will remain unconvincing. In order to address the difficulties involved in making the paradigm shift from folk psychology to cognitive neuroscience I (a) briefly review the theoretical revolution that marked the tran- sition from classical mechanics to the theory of relativity at the beginning of 20th century; (b) identify some similarities between this paradigm shift in physics and the birth of a new scientific view of the mind; (c) explain by means of (a) and (b) why neurological theories that reduce consciousness and the Self to aspects of brain dynamics appear implausible from a common sense perspective despite being sound from a scientific point of view.
2015
Nannini, S. (2015). Time and Consciousness in Cognitive Naturalism. RIVISTA INTERNAZIONALE DI FILOSOFIA E PSICOLOGIA, 6(3), 458-473 [10.4453/rifp.2015.0044].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/990223