Neurophilosophical Inquiries
from : the living
mindbrain
to : the imaginal brainmind,
an evolution ...
© Wim van den Dungen
Antwerp, 2003 - 2008.
a pluralist philosophy
of mind
7
modes of thought and 3 stages of cognition
the triune brain as executive
organ of consciousness
the brain wired to transmit spiritual experiences
the
realization of a neural
"God-circuit"
the imaginal brainmind
"... what about such a proposition as 'I know I have a brain ?'
Can I doubt it ? Grounds for doubt are lacking !
Everything speaks in its favour, nothing against it.
Nevertheless it is imaginable that my skull
should turn out empty when it was operated on."
Wittgenstein, L. : On Certainty, 1969, 4.
These philosophical investigations
encompass neurology, the philosophy
of mind and neurotheology. In particular, they address sensation and its
neurophilosophy and so probe into the way the data issued by the five
senses are interpreted by the brain.
This accommodates the clean-clear
scrutiny of the ontological status of the five sensory perception. If
there is a physiological difference between appearance and
interpretation, between "naked" (causal) stimuli and the resultant
sensoric synthesis, then clearly the distinction between sensation and
the resultant mental picture of objects taking shape in our mind is
pertinent. Both in epistemology and esthetics this matter is crucial,
for both the truth & the beauty of objects (and subjects) co-depend on
sensation. In metaphysics, this issue is linked with the topic of
universal illusion, the point of view that all mental constructions done
on the basis of sensory input is illusionary, i.e. not the real,
absolute nature of things ... The tenets of materialism could come under
fatal attack, placing our constructing mind and not the senses at the
crossroad between truth & falsehood. This would herald the end of the
limited materialistic views which infests contemporary science, allowing
it to serve humanity rather than destroy it.
Because of their
larger
setting, these studies entail
epistemological,
ethical, esthetical, ontological,
anthropological & system-theoretical
considerations.
Apart from
Introduction,
Epilogue &
Bibliography, they are divided into four sections :
Neurophilosophy of Sensation
Neurology
for Philosophers
Imagining the Brain
In the Introduction, the materialistic axiom stating mental states are
per definition
caused, produced, secreted, made, generated etc. by the neurophysiology of the
brain is bracketed. This position does not turn out to be the outcome of
the investigation, neither should it be taken as the unchallenged
building-block of neurophilosophy, quite on the contrary. Since
Cartesius, rationalism has favored interactionism, not materialistic
monism. In the ontology defended here, the triadism of matter,
information & consciousness is considered to be more in tune with the
diversity of human knowledge than monism, materialistic or otherwise.
Hence, it may well be that brain states compute, process, execute,
calculate, etc. mental states. Surely methologically, interactionism is
not to be rejected a priori ?
The First Section studies the five senses, in particular the way
sensoric pathways and cortical modules process the formation of the five
conscious states co-relative with smell, taste, touch, audition and
sight. The division in primary, secondary and tertiary sensory areas plays an
important role here. An interactionistic
philosophy of
mind rooted in a triadic, triune ontology with as logical primitives the
operators "consciousness", "information" and
"matter".
In the
epistemology and
genesis of mind backing this exercise,
the mind is viewed as a layered reality, the product of the
sequential genesis of modes or
layers of thoughts. Integrated rationality (or free thinking), completes three fundamental stages of
cognition or rationality : ante-rationality, rationality, meta-rationality, and
seven modes of thought : mythical, pre-rational, proto-rational, rational,
critical, creative & nondual.
In the Second Section, intelligent design is reaffirmed, as evidenced
in the universe as a whole as well as in the sublime manifestation of material
excellence as we know it : the human brain. A comprehensive overview of the
neuronal executants of the spiritual function in the brain is given. Thanks to,
on the one hand,
the distinctions between the spirituality of the Neanderthal (with a brain
different from ours) and the Homo
Sapiens sapiens (the Cro-Magnon) and, on the other hand, the discovery of "the abode of God"
in the limbic system (amygdala-hippocampal complex), a cortico-limbic
"God-circuit" may be postulated to identify the executant part of the
brain computing the spiritual function of humanity.
In the Third Section, the
emancipatoric value of neurotheology is put into evidence. Recitation, prayer,
meditation and ritual are the approved ways of the religions. Can neurofeedback
improve these ancient spiritual technologies ?
The evolution proposed ignites the spirituality embedded in the mind and
executed (as a spiritual function) by its natural brain (together called the "mindbrain") and allows consciousness to steer this emancipation by
means of an imaginal representation of the brain (or "brainmind"), put
into play as a visualized neurofeedback interface or a neuro-emancipatoric
cognitive map.
In the epilogue, a series of "spiritual rules" are formulated on the
basis of the foregoing investigations.
Bibliography |