Mind and brain

My Amazon review of
The Mind and the Brain : Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Sharon Begley

The conventional wisdom/paradigm in the current era of scientism disallows the independence of mind from brain processes. Here in this remarkably deft account the place of mind is declared independent, in a brass tacks grounding in neural processes, without the philosophic distractions that impinge on the metaphysical. With a touch of Buddhist meditation lore, the phenomenon of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)is explored, with the discovery that a therapy resembling mindfulness can engage an unknown potential of neuropasticity. The authors also explore the connections with quantum mechanics, and the interprettion of the work of Stapp. The behaviourism of current researches forces many to reinvent the wheel, and here the authors proceed to a practical demonstration in action of the classic gestures of the Kantian Third Antinomy (no doubt they don't think of it that way), and the ambiguity of 'will' emerges spontaneously in the consideration of the ambiguous neural labyrinth. That 'mind' can influence and change brain activity is, in the end, the most natural interpretation of the facts of the case, and the current inability of most scientists to grapple with the basic contradiction in their methods is like a form of methodological exile. The point should be clear from the simplest consideration of computer software. Nothing in the consideration of hardware can deprive us of the potential of the software. The 'freedom' to use the software cannot be mechanized away by considerations of hardware, for that would miss the point entirely, depriving us of a mode of activity that requires the 'will to use' not explained by any isolated causal sequence in the hardware. Insightful book, with a practical twist that makes its points stand out in the midst of the odd complexities of brain function.
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Mainstream brain research is the host to a lot of confusions here. On the one hand, the needs of research are compelling--we have a lot to learn. At the same time this field strikes one as filled with a determination to never learn.

Are We Just Really Smart Robots?
Two books on the mind put the human back into human beings.
Kenneth Silber

On Intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins with Sandra Blakeslee, New York: Times Books, 261 pages, $25

Mind: A Brief Introduction, by John R. Searle, New York: Oxford University Press, 326 pages, $26


Neurobiology’s advances generate anxiety as well as joy and hope. On the joyful and hopeful side, there are the prospect and reality of improved treatments for brain diseases and debilities. But anxiety arises over what the science tells us, or will tell us, about ourselves. Thoughts and feelings may be reduced to brain structures and processes. Consciousness and free will may be proven unimportant or illusory. Much of what we value about ourselves, in short, may be explained—or, worse, explained away.


Reason Magazine