Philosphy of Mind

Philosphy of Mind is a Modern Scholar lecture course by Professor Andrew Pessin. Professor Pessin gives a deep look at the ideas of the mind and how we think about thinking. He starts with the basic conundrum of mind and body. He describes how the mental is fundamentally different from the physical, including qualitative sensations (qualia) and intentionality (thoughts). Part of philosophy of mind is coming to grips with this different and trying to figure out how thoughts can arise out of inert matter.

Descartes addressed the dualism of mind and body by claiming that they are two different substances (substance dualistm), but had no answer for how they interact other than saying the pituitary gland is the locus. A less strong form of dualism says that the mental and physical are the same substance but have different properties. Physicalism (materialism) says that ultimately there is only the physical. Pessin addresses theories the theories of physicalism. Identity theories says that mental states are identical to brain states. Functionalism says that mental states are defined by their functional roles. Behaviorism all but denies that there is anything internal in anyone's mind. All these theories have flaws.

I enjoyed learning about Language of Thought, which compares the syntax of thought with the syntax of spoken language. It does describe how mental processes resemble sentences. I could have used more analysis of this, but it is a good overview. I may study it further. I also enjoyed hearing about Daniel Dennett's concept of the intentional stance, but I think I need to study more about it before I can really understand it. I also appreciate the review of Searle's Chinese Room analogy, which I first read about in Hofstadter's work. Much of late philosophical theories seem to concern denying the reality of the mental, which is counterintuitive since the mental feels more real than the physical. Objective facts and science cannot break the barrier into a person's personal thoughts and experiences.

One of the concepts that I found most appealing is that of epiphenominalism. This states that the mind-body link is basically one way. The body and brain are completely physical and thus physical principles can explain interaction with the world. Mental states are just byproducts of brain states that have the main effect of driving nerve impulses. This also seems counterintuitive, for it feels that our thoughts direct our actions. But given the state of modern neuroscience, it makes a lot of sense. I do wish that the course had included more discoveries of brain science, since it is illuminating and shows that more and more mental states can be explained by chemistry and electrical impulses. However, the course is a great overview of the thinking about thinking over the last few centuries. A-

The Mind's Eye

Like his book Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks' latest book The Mind's Eye is a collection of case studies concerning the brain. In this case Sacks discusses the brain's perception of visual data and how it relates to the rest of the brain.

One of the most striking phenomena is when the visual cortex is deprived of all input from the eyes in cases of blindness. The brain is flexible enough that the visual cortex can take over other perceptual functions, such as hearing or touch. But Sacks shows that the experience of the blind can take many different forms. In some they go into a "deep blindness", where they remember nothing of the visual world, colors, faces, shapes. Others still have a strong perception of the visual, including having a mental map of the world and an ability to visualize the faces of those they have never seen. This is one of the strongest sections of the book, reading about the different ways of perceiving the world. It is amazing and eye-opening to learn that some blind people can "see" their hands as they play the piano or do other things with their hands.

Another interesting phenomena is the condition of alexia, the loss of the ability to read. Some patients with alexia can see perfectly well and recognize individual letters, but cannot build the letters into words. Many can even write, but can't read what they have written. Others cannot even recognize letters or other familiar symbols. Some who have lost the ability to read also lose their spacial sense, so they easily get lost in their own neighborhoods or homes. It is fascinating to learn about the different connections in the brain and how they can go wrong. Sacks is great at explaining the basic workings of the parts of the brain and also shows how little we understand.

One of the longest sections describes his experience of losing most of his sight in one eye due to a tumor. He explains how in many patients the loss of vision in one eye can lead to a loss of recognition of things on that side of the body. If there is brain damage on one side of the visual cortex then one's whole perception of that space (the opposite side of the body) can go away. Some patients don't even recognize their own arms.

Another section talks about stereoscopy, the ability to see with depth perception. This is something that most of us take for granted until we lose it, as the author did when he had the tumor. But some people live without it and don't see what the big deal is. In the case he describes, a woman was able to achieve stereoscopy after living most of her life without it and was astounded with the results. She would be surprised to see a dinosaur's head coming at her in a museum or the many depths of the leaves of a tree.

Sacks has created another wonderful look at the brain with this book. He excels at describing experiences of people from their point of view, explaining what goes wrong in the brain, and how the brain is generally understood to work when it is working normally. There is a lot we can learn about the brain from these case studies where something stops working properly. The brain's processing of vision as presented here ties to our perception of the world around us and how we relate to it. Vision is related to our inner maps of the world, though our maps can be created and maintained with different sensory inputs like in the blind subjects. A-

Musicophilia

I have been interested in the brain for a while and have recently gotten interested in neurology. Oliver Sacks is a noted neurologist and author on brain science, yet I hadn't read any of his books until I picked up Musicophilia. The book is a compilation of cases of people who have particular capabilities or impairments of enjoying music after suffering neural damage or a brain disease or in some cases being born with the condition.

Sacks doesn't start off with any theory or analysis of how the brain processes music, he just jumps right in to the cases. Starting with a man who suddenly gains intense enjoyment of music after getting struck by lightning, he discusses extreme cases of music processing in the brain. While some people have heightened enjoyment of music, others are plagued by musical hallucinations. These auditory hallucinations are different from the musical imagery most people can conjure up in their minds--the auditory processing of the brain makes it sound as if a real orchestra were playing in the room. Other people can have seizures when listening to music.

I was struck by the section on music and memory. Sacks shows that music is stored in a different sort of memory structure than normal episodic memory. Some patients who have lost all memory of who they are can still remember and sing songs from their past. One man with severe memory impairment could go through his daily routine as he kept songs running through his mind. Music can even help those who have lost all language; they can sing even when they can't talk.

Another interesting case is that of synesthesia, the condition of mixing of the senses. Some people can see colors in music. One man sees each key as a different color, but individual notes are meaningless. Others see each note as having a unique color. They sense music differently than the rest of us but to them it is just part of the experience.

Other people can memorize vast amounts of music, while others can barely perceive music at all. For the few people with absolute pitch, there is evidence to support heightened activity in certain auditory processing parts of the brain. In other cases, those who have lost hearing in one or both ears hear noise, sometimes nice, sometimes terrible, as the nerves in the brain replace the missing input with new sensations. A wonderful section describes the condition of Williams syndrome, where the patient is mildly retarded but very outgoing and extremely musical. Williams patients are often drawn to music. Sacks closes with a positive note about how music has helped many people with neurological deterioration improve their condition, and especially their enjoyment of life.

A wide range of experiences are described in this book, some wonderful and many terrifying. It is a fascinating look at how music works in the brain and how it can malfunction. I was most intrigued by the sections that described how music can help those with mental impairments. It is illuminating to consider that even if we lose all of our memories or our speech capabilities then we can still have a sort of musical existence. It is also interesting to ponder how music is perceived by those with extraordinary musical abilities. Even normal people can hold a tune and keep a remarkably close rhythm to the original piece. Music is a central part to the human experience. A-