Questions tagged [philosophy-of-mind]
For questions about this branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, consciousness and their relationship to neurobiology.
104
questions
1
vote
2
answers
67
views
Books to understand autism?
Are there any books for non-professionals to better understand autism? I would also accept a cheatsheet with things to do or remember. This does not need to be academically accepted, as it is for my ...
- 133
1
vote
2
answers
68
views
recording a psychological state
We can record a picture with a camera and record a voice with a recorder. Then, how could we record a psychological state? If we can record it and then re-experience it, it will be helpful in studying ...
- 113
2
votes
0
answers
49
views
Has neuroscience yet proved that antisocial humans think in terms of anything resembling moral circuitry when targeting their victims? [closed]
Popular philosopher Frederich Wilhelm Nietzsche hypothesized and theorized that there are two core languages of moralities, rather than 'morality'. These languages are the master morality, and the ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
117
views
The perception of time of workaholics
“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.” -Albert Einstein
It's no secret that Elon Musk puts a ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
53
views
Is cognition a zero-sum phenomenon?
In other words, are cognitive resources finite? Let's say, hypothetically, our mind is only processing 2 tasks: word retrieval and executive decision-making. If I have to dedicate cognitive resources ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
123
views
What scientific evidence is there for the definable real world quality of redness independent our perception?
'With light poise and counter-poise, Nature oscillates within prescribed limits. Yet thus all arise the varieties and conditions of the phenomena which are present to us in space and time.' - Goethe
...
- 23
1
vote
1
answer
250
views
Why do people believe what they believe?
What is the basis or sequence of events that leads to someone believing something is true. Is there a framework that can be used to understand how people develop belief? How do they go about doing it?
...
- 139
2
votes
0
answers
36
views
If exactly one neuron magically disappeared from my brain, would my thoughts be significantly different?
If exactly one neuron magically disappeared from my brain, would my thoughts be significantly different?
One can ask an analogous question about a single neuron (and/or its synapses) being magically ...
- 121
0
votes
1
answer
95
views
What happens inside the brain when we concentrate?
What happens inside the brain when we concentrate (meditate), and why does a person find it difficult to continuously concentrate for a long time? That is, why does one need a break after working or ...
- 109
1
vote
0
answers
56
views
Concept of shared experience
Michael Stevens/VSauce summarized one aspect he realized after a 3 days isolation experiment as follows:
.. being able to talk to people and share my experiences - I realized how
important that ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
How a living being (a huge collection of atoms) perceive things? [duplicate]
How a series of physical and chemical events leads to a very non physical/ intangible perception? For example, let's say a certain wavelength of light falls on the retina of my eyes, then the sensory ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
90
views
Could bioinfomatics explain consciousness?
There's a theory that consciousness is the result of information processing. Many speculate based on this that the brain is conscious because it is processing information. If this theory of ...
- 103
1
vote
0
answers
95
views
Would Newspeak actually work for what the Party intends it for? [duplicate]
In George Orwell's novel 1984 the ruling Party is creating a "new version" of English, called Newspeak, which focuses on removing any and all parts of the language which can be used to express any ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
145
views
What can coma patients report about their experiences - if anything?
Coma is correlated to a significant inactivity of the cerebral cortex and the reticular activating system, while other parts of the brain - e.g. the limbic system - might still show considerable ...
2
votes
1
answer
216
views
Does monism imply that computers can have consciousness?
According to The Basic Theory of the Mind, the mind is not a different entity from the brain, but an emergent property of the brain. Based on this assertion, can it be concluded that computers and ...
1
vote
1
answer
113
views
why we failed to convince our own mind by reasoning and rational arguments over mental illness like depression, anxiety, phobia?
For example, one of my friend has fear of heights, even if there is a strong glass window and no reason for him to fall off. He is even aware and admits his fear is irrational.
Many may say it’s in ...
- 131
0
votes
0
answers
116
views
Can one use self-hypnosis or subliminal messages to wipe out selected memories from my brain (i.e. selective permanent amnesia)? [duplicate]
Is it possible to use self-hypnosis or subliminal messages to completely forget certain memories from one's brain, to cure from mental disorders as PTSD, if such memories are troubling one's life?
-1
votes
1
answer
72
views
Are our human brains programmed as materialistic as one can be?
First of all, not all human beings are materialistic. I strongly believe that.
We tend to not be happy with what we have but what we want. We desire for more.
There is a saying that says that the ...
user19969
1
vote
1
answer
112
views
Mind uploading & its constituents: Theoretically possible?
Is it possible to remove the mind from the rest of the body and have it "alive" somehow as in its former known form? Mind uploading would be computerizing a mind to preserve data, memories and etc.
...
3
votes
1
answer
99
views
Does the informational content of the mind determine its structure?
I have been thinking for several years that maybe the mind could be described as a space, in the mathematical sense, of information and that similarly to the relativistic case of the spacetime whose ...
- 131
0
votes
1
answer
124
views
Imagining unreal stuff [closed]
This is probably the most adequate stackexchange for this question.
Is it possible to imagine something that does not exist, explicitly or implicitly, in our universe?
Exclude things such as a ...
- 109
5
votes
1
answer
121
views
Differentiations of Imposter Syndrome
How can Imposter Syndrome be differentiated from actually possessing its symptoms? For example, one of the symptoms is the feeling that the person does not possesses extra intelligence, but that they ...
- 75
2
votes
1
answer
256
views
How do we imagine? How do images have qualia?
After reading a bit about qualia and hard problem of consiousness, I came up to theoretical solution. The reason why we have this problem is because we can imagine. We can imagine an object visible to ...
- 567
3
votes
0
answers
45
views
What might be the daily experience of someone who does not have an orientation association area?
The orientation association area gives us a sense of our body in time and space.
What would it be like without this part of the brain assuming everything else works normally?
Can the brain separate ...
- 131
2
votes
1
answer
45
views
Is there an explanation for concepts or situations that are repeated within a short amount of time? [duplicate]
I know that the title is not really clear. That's because I don't know what i'm searching for, unfortunately.
Let me explain with an example:
Yesterday i was watching a youtube video , more precisely ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
387
views
Is Behaviorism a type of Functionalism?
Behaviorism separates itself from other psychological views in that it doesn't care about the psyche. Rather, it focuses on how the mind behaves, how outside factors can manipulate it, and so on.
...
3
votes
0
answers
95
views
Knowability of "repressed" in Freud's theory
Both Popper and Grünbaum took issue with Freud's theory, but they critiqued it for different reasons, in which the main difference seems (to me) to come down to this:
Popper interprets Freud as ...
- 10.2k
2
votes
0
answers
66
views
Is there any evidence that less thinking about the future improves mental health?
Recently I heard a lecture about the philosophy of minimalism and the rethor argued that it's better not to think much about what you're going to do in the near future for example in the form of ...
- 305
1
vote
0
answers
8k
views
What is the point of living a life if we're all going to eventually die? [closed]
So I've had this question over the past week since New Years. I am currently 21 years old and yea, time flies so fast. New years just feels like one year closer to death. Can you believe it? The ...
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
293
views
What are the differences between Orch OR and Hartley's vibratiuncles?
Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff have a theory called Orgastrated Objective Reduction or Orch OR, and they claim this has been confirmed. The article says:
"The origin of consciousness reflects ...
- 201
7
votes
1
answer
126
views
Why is IIT "unmotivated"?
I'm trying to understand Searle's reply to Tononi and Koch's objections to Searle's characterization of their Intergrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness.
Although I do understand why IIT ...
- 8,833
2
votes
1
answer
9k
views
What is a belief, and how does it differ from an opinion?
While many theories in cognitive science rely on the concept of a "belief" I do not see much on the definition of a belief or how it compares to other mental states. What is a belief, and how does it ...
- 149
8
votes
6
answers
662
views
Is there any evidence that language is the limit of the world?
Philosopher Wittgenstein says that "the limit of my language means the limit of my world". One theory that supports this statement is that people couldn't see the blue colour until they have the word ...
- 1,771
12
votes
1
answer
195
views
Is a network of neurons the only factor in memory?
Background
I'm actually writing a science fiction novel set a couple decades in the future. Brains are not my field. I've done as much research as I could.
In the story, the protagonist finds out he ...
- 221
4
votes
3
answers
505
views
Is prior experience necessary to perceive the Kanizsa triangle illusion?
We know the Kanizsa Triangle.
Kanizsa Triangle
I was socialized in a "western" world, where I learned mathematics for about 13 years; I have designed products surrounding me using geometric forms ...
- 141
1
vote
0
answers
45
views
What does pregnancy dreams mean? [closed]
I had a weird dream about my boobs being as hard as a morning stiffy
oh and for some reason thinking of my fiancee in the same dream made me pregnant and I was still stuck ...
- 19
2
votes
0
answers
294
views
Is there a difference in the perception of time in animals of different size?
Small animals, such as a fly, snail, or little sea crab, have to cope with physical processes that proceed much faster in relation to their size than they do for bigger animals.
Therefore, I wonder, ...
10
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Can curiosity be described as an emotion?
Can curiosity be described as an emotion?
On one hand it is definitely an emotion in the sense that is a feeling. IT feels like you want to know something. Furthermore, it can be pleasant or ...
2
votes
0
answers
38
views
Consciousness and neural grafting [closed]
You have two friends: Alice and Bob. Suppose you have a way to remove a healthy neuron from Alice's brain and conserve it in some safe place. And, viceversa, suppose you have a way to graft this ...
- 129
2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How can a persons good or bad be accurately measured?
The majority of people who think certain people are bad people are usually because they have been exposed to the bad things they do or also because they measure how bad they are based on only the bad ...
- 67
3
votes
3
answers
247
views
Disprove that Humans are selfish
Psychological egoism, can anyone provide an everyday action which a healthy human mind would carry out which doesn't have the motive of preservation of the individuals own life at heart?
For example, ...
- 131
2
votes
2
answers
175
views
Math understanding: intuitions and proofs
I think that cogsci can help me to study a problem in philosophy of math. Consider this case (adapted from M. Detlefsen, Brouwerian intuitionism):
Lucy has the kind of understanding of a given math ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
272
views
A list of books on the big ideas of psychology [closed]
Can anyone give a list of all the books one should read in order to have a fairly general understanding of psychology, and with somewhat of an emphasis cognitive and evolutionary psychology. I realize ...
- 151
1
vote
1
answer
79
views
If we do not consciously perceive a sound at a time, can we sometimes still later consciously recall it?
You all probably know the thought experiment, 'If a tree falls in the forest and no one is their to hear it, does it make a sound?'. But if we take that one step further and ask 'If we are not ...
1
vote
0
answers
28
views
How to display Talairach Image in AFNI correctly?
I am using AFNI to display Talairach image, that is anat+tlrc.BRIK & anat+tlrc.HEAD . But the AFNI only shows part of the image. It looks like this:
AFNI is ...
- 161
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Does anyone know how to explain Quinian bootstrapping process by Carey to a layperson (like me)?
I've been trying my best to understand what Quinian bootstrapping is, by reading scientific articles on this topic, but I come across more and more philosophical concepts like "sortals" or similar.
...
- 465
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
is it true that people who code think differently? [duplicate]
I code websites and I believe the way I think is totally different from most of the others. Not that I think in a better way(a possibility though) but I'm only saying "differently". Do you think it's ...
- 111
4
votes
2
answers
120
views
Are action potentials necessary for experience?
We know that, for example, during brain surgery, electrical stimulation in certain parts of the cortex is sufficient for experience, and result in reportable experiences in human subjects.
We also ...
- 1,537
1
vote
3
answers
165
views
Is spiritual enlightenment a valid way attempting to understand the universe and consciousness [closed]
Are traditional methods of spiritual enlightenment such as Zen, Buddist, etc accepted by psychologists as valid ways of further understanding the workings of consciousness, Or is it considered too ...
- 486
1
vote
0
answers
42
views
Paradox or contradiction? [closed]
If someone does not believe in ghosts, for example, why do they experience feelings of fear at the thought of such things? Is such thinking paradoxical?
- 11