Ep. 13: Are We our Brains? Philosophy and the Foundations of Neuroscience, with Dr. Michael Egnor

Does your brain think? Does your frontal lobe decide? Or do you think and you decide? What is the relationship between the brain and and the mind; between the brain and the person? Neuroscience has entered our everyday speech and increasingly shapes the way we think about ourselves and the world--including some serious conceptual errors. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Michael Egnor, a neurosurgeon and professor of pediatric neurosurgery about some of the philosophical foundations and faulty assumptions of contemporary neuroscience. We discuss his critiques of materialism, positivism, and scientism that underlie much of neuroscience. We also discuss the work of Bennet and Hacker and the pervasive error in neuroscience of the mereological fallacy--the error of identifying the part with the whole--identifying the brain with the person. Bennet and Hacker argue that much contemporary neuroscience is founded upon a "mutant Cartesianism" that has replaced the dualism of Decartes with a new dualism where the brain takes the place of the mind. We also discuss Dr. Egnor’s work on split-brain patients, perception, and the Aristotelian-Thomistic idea of hylomorphism. This is my first interview with Dr. Egnor. In the second interview, we discuss the problem of free will, the work of Benjamin Libet, Sam Harris, and what neuroscience actually tells us about free choices.

Topics we discuss include:

• Mereological Fallacy:   Attributing whole to part. 

• I highly recommend the work of Bennett and Hacker on the Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience and The History of Cognitive Neuroscience. See links below

• The binding problem.

• Engor argues that the binding problem is not a scientific problem 

• “The question you ask is more important than the answer you get”.  Pollack 

• Pre-conceived materialism vs physical explanation

• Aristotle’s 4 causes:

  • Material

  • Formal

  • Efficient

  • Final

• Warner Heisenberg —Uncertainty Principle

• Here is short video on the uncertainty principle

• Egnor on Heisenberg: “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”

• Materialism is not neutral 

• Scientism 

• Positivism 

• David Mamet: Mamet principle— Pretending not to know things 

• Girard on mimetic desire

• Exclusion of questions 

• Marx 

• Voegelin 

• Augusto del Noce 

• Dictatorship of relativism homily

• Hannah Arendt.  Banality of evil 

• Rule of law vs Totalitarianism law is means to power 

• And arbitrary 

• Terror and unpredictability 

• Thomas on law 

• Bennet and Hacker 

• Mereologial fallacy 

• Degenerate Cartesianism  QUOTE

• Mutant form of Cartesianism 

• Sherrington and Penfield

• Mind to brain 

• Descartes

• Res extensa

• Res cogitans 

• Animals no mind. Meat robot

• Joseph LeDoux: Critique of limbic theory

• Aristotle on intellect and will and material powers 

• Aristotle Perception vs  intellect and will

• Max Scheler animals choosing decisions 

• Roger Scruton on loving animals 

• Phrenology Definition.  Critique 

• Maps of brain 

• Split Brain Patients

• Roger Sperry. 

• Treatment of Epilepsy: Cutting corpus collusum which severs the two hemispheres of the brain

• Michael Gazzaniga—student of Roger Sperry

• Gazzaniga and LeDoux: The Integrated Brain

• Joseph LeDoux: study on amygdala, fear, and self

• Anxiety

• The Emotional Brain

• For critique of Gazzaniga and LeDoux see Bennet and Hacker: History of Cognitive Neuroscience

Biography

Michael Egnor, M.D. is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine. His surgery practice includes patients diagnosed with Arnold Chiari deformity, hydrocephalus, cranio-synostosis, brain tumors, and spina bifida, as well as children with severe head trauma. He has an international reputation for research on hydrocephalus, and he is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States. He did his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Neurological Surgery.

Does your brain think? Does your frontal lobe decide? Or do you think and you decide? What is the relationship between the brain and and the mind; between the brain and the person? Neuroscience has entered our everyday speech and increasingly shapes the way we think about ourselves and the world--including some serious conceptual errors.

BIOGRAPHY

About Michael Egnor

Dr. Michael Egnor is the Director of Neurosurgery Residency Program; Professor of Neurosurgery and PediatricsDepartment of NeurosurgeryRenaissance School of Medicine at Stoney Brook University. He has expertise in neurosurgery, head trauma, brain cancer, hydrocephalus, Spina Bifida, Spinal Tumors

Michael Egnor’s practice includes patients diagnosed with Arnold Chiari deformity, hydrocephalus, cranio-synostosis, brain tumors, and spina bifida, as well as children with severe head trauma. He has an international reputation for research on hydrocephalus, and he is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States. 

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Resources

Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience

By Bennett, M. R., Hacker, P. M. S.

Buy on Amazon

History of Cognitive Neuroscience

By Bennett, M. R., Hacker, P. M. S.

Buy on Amazon