Freedom and Neuroscience

Author: [US] John R. Searle
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-25
Features: The two articles collected in this book were lectures given by John R. Searle in 2001 at the invitation of the University of Paris-Sorbonne and its UFR of Philosophy and Sociology, as part of the Paris seminar "Modern Rationality" hosted by Pascal Engel. The lectures retained their oral characteristics. Searle argues that the dualism of mind and body in the history of Western philosophy is incorrect. Mental activities of the brain and other psychological phenomena, such as "perception" and "will," are natural features of the brain's physiological mechanisms and have no mystery. Will gives meaning to the world, and speech acts extend the brain. The human brain is an organic body composed of nerves, marrow, blood, etc., and is objective, but how does it produce subjective psychological activities? This is a topic of common concern in the philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive psychology. However, Searle offers a different interpretation and reflection on this issue from the perspective of neurobiology in this book.