The Soul After Neuroscience | Prof. Daniel De Haan

Philosophical Views on the Concept of Soul

The podcast delves into the various philosophical perspectives on the concept of the soul. It compares the Cartesian view, emphasizing dualism between mental and physical properties, with the Aristotelian view, which sees the soul as an animating form that organizes living beings. The discussion highlights the challenges posed by neuroscience discoveries to traditional views of the soul.

Personal vs. Subpersonal Attributes

The episode explores the distinction between personal and subpersonal attributes in understanding human cognition. It contrasts the emergentist dualism view, where mental properties emerge from physical brain organization, with hylomorphic animalism, which emphasizes the unity of psychological and physical attributes within living beings. The debate over the coordination of personal and subpersonal attributes in neuroscience research is discussed.

New Mechanist Philosophy in Neuroscience

The podcast introduces the New Mechanist philosophy within neuroscience, emphasizing the importance of mechanisms in scientific explanations. It discusses how this approach focuses on discovering and describing mechanisms in biological phenomena and contrasts with traditional views of mechanisms. The episode highlights the intersection of ontology and philosophy of neuroscience, showcasing differing perspectives on understanding the mind and brain.

Understanding Mechanisms in Neuroscience

Neuroscience explores mechanisms that are often stochastic and involve multi-level irreducible ontic structures. Mechanisms in the brain can be highly distributed, yet still contribute to localism and neural reuse. These mechanisms are not mere metaphors; they describe and explain real-world structures.

Roles of Components and Organization in Mechanisms

Mechanisms explain how organized entities and activities produce, underlie, or maintain certain phenomena. Components of mechanisms possess properties like location, size, and transmit momentum. Activities of entities interact spatially and temporally, requiring specific setups and conditions. The organization of components distinguishes mechanisms from simple aggregations of matter, highlighting the non-aggregative nature of mechanisms.

The Thomistic Institute

The Soul After Neuroscience | Prof. Daniel De Haan

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Philosophical Views on the Concept of Soul

Personal vs. Subpersonal Attributes

New Mechanist Philosophy in Neuroscience

Understanding Mechanisms in Neuroscience

Roles of Components and Organization in Mechanisms

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts