The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind-Body to the World-Brain Problem
536
The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind-Body to the World-Brain Problem
536Paperback
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Overview
Philosophers have long debated the mind-body problem—whether to attribute such mental features as consciousness to mind or to body. Meanwhile, neuroscientists search for empirical answers, seeking neural correlates for consciousness, self, and free will. In this book, Georg Northoff does not propose new solutions to the mind-body problem; instead, he questions the problem itself, arguing that it is an empirically, ontologically, and conceptually implausible way to address the existence and reality of mental features. We are better off, he contends, by addressing consciousness and other mental features in terms of the relationship between world and brain; philosophers should consider the world-brain problem rather than the mind-body problem. This calls for a Copernican shift in vantage point—from within the mind or brain to beyond the brain—in our consideration of mental features.
Northoff, a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher, explains that empirical evidence suggests that the brain's spontaneous activity and its spatiotemporal structure are central to aligning and integrating the brain within the world. This spatiotemporal structure allows the brain to extend beyond itself into body and world, creating the “world-brain relation” that is central to mental features. Northoff makes his argument in empirical, ontological, and epistemic-methodological terms. He discusses current models of the brain and applies these models to recent data on neuronal features underlying consciousness and proposes the world-brain relation as the ontological predisposition for consciousness.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262552820 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | MIT Press |
| Publication date: | 08/06/2024 |
| Pages: | 536 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Introduction xi
I Models of Brain 1
1 Beyond the Passive/Active Dichotomy: A Spectrum Model of the Brain's Neural Activities 3
2 Relation between Spontaneous and Stimulus-Induced Activity: Interaction Model of Brain 27
3 Is Our Brain an Open or Closed System? Prediction Model of Brain and World-Brain Relation 55
II Models of Consciousness 77
4 Spectrum Model of Brain and Consciousness 79
5 Interaction Model of Brain and Consciousness 105
6 Prediction Model of Brain and Consciousness 127
7 Spatiotemporal Model of Consciousness I: Spatiotemporal Specificity and Neuronal-Phenomenal Correspondence 151
8 Spatiotemporal Model of Consciousness II: Spatiotemporal Alignment-Neuro-ecological Continuum and World-Brain Relation 195
III World-Brain Problem 237
9 Ontology I: From Brain to World-Brain Relation 239
10 Ontology II: From World-Brain Relation to Consciousness 269
11 Ontology III: From the World to Consciousness 315
IV Copernican Revolution 349
12 Copernican Revolution in Physics and Cosmology: Vantage Point from beyond Earth 351
13 Pre-Copernican Stance in Neuroscience and Philosophy: Vantage Point from within Mind or Brain 377
14 Copernican Revolution in Neuroscience and Philosophy: Vantage Point from beyond Brain 403
Conclusion: Copernican Revolution-Is the Brain's Spontaneous Activity an Empirical, Epistemic, and Ontological Game Changer in Neuroscience and Philosophy? 435
Glossary 439
References 455
Index 501
What People are Saying About This
"In this truly groundbreaking book, Professor Georg Northoff offers a world-to-brain research paradigm that not only revolutionizes our view of consciousness, but also paves the way for reconceiving how the human mind has been understood in the Chinese and Asian intellectual traditions."
—Kai-Yuan Cheng, Professor, National Chung-Cheng University, Taiwan
"In The Spontaneous Brain, Georg Northoff argues we need to give up on solving the ancient and intractable mind-body problem and focus instead on understanding the brain-world relation -- for the dynamic spatiotemporal alignment between brain and world is what mindedness is. This interesting, innovative and closely argued volume is sure to be both productive and controversial. Highly recommended for anyone interested in an alternate future for the science of the mind."
—Michael L. Anderson, Rotman Professor in Philosophy of Science, Western University, Ontario"Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with rigorous philosophical augmentation, Northoff here proposes a new view of the mind-body problem: A Copernican revolution in philosophy and neuroscience, shifting the vantage point for understanding brain, mind, and consciousness from an egocentric to an ecocentric position. This is a highly original and game-changing contribution to understanding the mind-brain and its place in nature."
—Kathinka Evers, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics (CRB), Uppsala University, Sweden"With impressive scope and skill, Northoff offers a fundamentally new--and deeply exciting--way of thinking about the brain. Anyone interested in contemporary neuroscience can learn a lot from this book."
—Colin Klein, School of Philosophy, The Australian National University, and author of What the Body Commands"In this truly groundbreaking book, Professor Georg Northoff offers a world-to-brain research paradigm that not only revolutionizes our view of consciousness, but also paves the way for reconceiving how the human mind has been understood in the Chinese and Asian intellectual traditions."
—Kai-Yuan Cheng, Professor, National Chung-Cheng University, Taiwan