Re: Is the Brain the Way?

From: Dawson Jon (jpd93ch@soton.ac.uk)
Date: Fri Mar 01 1996 - 15:51:54 GMT


computers work as our introspection does not how we do therefore by
saying computers think in the same way we do, just because they can be
caused to reproduce our actions is incorrect

what is wrong with all lifeforms having a mind-isn't having a mind a
prerequesite to being a lifeform (and can you hence say that lifeforms
have a mind and non lifeforms do not, but this is just really restating
the problem, as 'humans' are lifeforms and machines are non lifeforms)

i find that phraseeology presents a problem after all it has been said
that the mind is made by cultural experience but it is impossible to
undergo a MIND SHAPING cultural experience if you do not already have a
mind

if pinch/reflex indicates a presence of a mind then if you take someone
who is lacking in the pain processing area of the brain are they
lacking in a mind-can you not use your brain to overrule a reflex
action and therefore is a pinch that creates no response more
indicative of a mind because indicates the ability to
experience,'think' and reformulate response based on data taken from a
new experience

if when 'looking at the brain' during two different tasks the same area
is activated during both, why does it mean that area is related to the
problem? after all when cooking and writing an email my visual cortex
is presumably active, but not involved in the problem solving
experience any more than the fact that i can feel the onion or keyboard
is

how do we know which different bits of the brain do what if we cannot
observe the stimulated area at the same time as we stimulate that
area?

if by experiment we know what all different bits of the brain do, then
where do we store our memories? (is it true that there is no evidence
that our body contains an area for memory storage?)

to go up to date, for our email coursework is it not true that mental
imagery is a form of behaviour (debateable but if pupil dilation is
then it must be), and then asking us to base the answer to the question
on "both behaviour and brain images" slightly misleading and would it
not be better to say "what can we find out about the mind from brain
images and other types of behaviour that we could not find out before
we had the ability to brain scan" also this then means that saying
"that we could not find out using behaviour alone" does not work
because behviour on its own still includes mental imagery

(the original question was "what can we find out about the mind by
observing both behaviour and brain images that we could not find out
using behaviour alone")

finally is it possible that mentioning of other peoples articles, that
they have already sent to the list, be only copied and repeated if
actually essential to the quoter, when expressing the point



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