Self-Consciousness and "Split" Brains

The Minds' I

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Mind & Body, Health & Well Being, Psychology
Cover of the book Self-Consciousness and "Split" Brains by Elizabeth Schechter, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Schechter ISBN: 9780192537515
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: May 24, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Schechter
ISBN: 9780192537515
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: May 24, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Could a single human being ever have multiple conscious minds? Some human beings do. The corpus callosum is a large pathway connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. In the second half of the twentieth century a number of people had this pathway cut through as a treatment for epilepsy. They became colloquially known as split-brain subjects. After the two hemispheres of the brain are cortically separated in this way, they begin to operate unusually independently of each other in the realm of thought, action, and conscious experience, almost as if each hemisphere now had a mind of its own. Philosophical discussion of the split-brain cases has overwhelmingly focused on questions of psychological identity in split-brain subjects, questions like: how many subjects of experience is a split-brain subject? How many intentional agents? How many persons? On the one hand, under experimental conditions, split-brain subjects often act in ways difficult to understand except in terms of each of them having two distinct streams or centers of consciousness. Split-brain subjects thus evoke the duality intuition: that a single split-brain human being is somehow composed of two thinking, experiencing, and acting things. On the other hand, a split-brain subject nonetheless seems like one of us, at the end of the day, rather than like two people sharing one body. In other words, split-brain subjects also evoke the unity intuition: that a split-brain subject is one person. Elizabeth Schechter argues that there are in fact two minds, subjects of experience, and intentional agents inside each split-brain human being: right and left. On the other hand, each split-brain subject is nonetheless one of us. The key to reconciling these two claims is to understand the ways in which each of us is transformed by self-consciousness.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Could a single human being ever have multiple conscious minds? Some human beings do. The corpus callosum is a large pathway connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. In the second half of the twentieth century a number of people had this pathway cut through as a treatment for epilepsy. They became colloquially known as split-brain subjects. After the two hemispheres of the brain are cortically separated in this way, they begin to operate unusually independently of each other in the realm of thought, action, and conscious experience, almost as if each hemisphere now had a mind of its own. Philosophical discussion of the split-brain cases has overwhelmingly focused on questions of psychological identity in split-brain subjects, questions like: how many subjects of experience is a split-brain subject? How many intentional agents? How many persons? On the one hand, under experimental conditions, split-brain subjects often act in ways difficult to understand except in terms of each of them having two distinct streams or centers of consciousness. Split-brain subjects thus evoke the duality intuition: that a single split-brain human being is somehow composed of two thinking, experiencing, and acting things. On the other hand, a split-brain subject nonetheless seems like one of us, at the end of the day, rather than like two people sharing one body. In other words, split-brain subjects also evoke the unity intuition: that a split-brain subject is one person. Elizabeth Schechter argues that there are in fact two minds, subjects of experience, and intentional agents inside each split-brain human being: right and left. On the other hand, each split-brain subject is nonetheless one of us. The key to reconciling these two claims is to understand the ways in which each of us is transformed by self-consciousness.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Experimentalist Governance in the European Union by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Dispositions and Causes by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Living Words by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book The Evolution of Emotional Communication by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book The Structure of Pluralism by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Landmark Papers in Cardiovascular Medicine by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Culloden by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Galileo: A Very Short Introduction by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Working with Goals in Psychotherapy and Counselling by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book Cancer Virus by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book A Life by Elizabeth Schechter
Cover of the book The Foundations of Behavioral Economic Analysis by Elizabeth Schechter
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy