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Mind-brain intertwined

February 14, 2008 by Fred Bortz, 1 year 41 weeks ago
Comment: 27525

I doubt there are any folks out there anymore who really believe the mind does not emerge from brain physiology and chemistry, even though Steven Pinker finds such people useful as straw-men to attack.

As I state in that linked book review: "Who can claim -- at least from a scientific perspective -- that the mind is an entity separate from the physical brain?"

In other words, we who read your blog all know the mind is not separable from the brain. But it is sometimes convenient to assume that some still believe the mind is a mystical ghost in the machine, yet separable from the machine.

However, in this case, I don't see any implication of the Mind-Brain duality in either the research or the writer's entertaining personal reflections on it. The only hint of that way of thinking is in the headline, "My Cortex Made Me But It." Hey, a headline writer's gotta have some fun, right?

I think your watchdog over-reacted on this one.

Woof!

Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)

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