16 ongoing discussion of francis crick and christoph koch (vol. 2, no. 1): commentary by drakon...
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/25/2019 16 Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and Christoph Koch (Vol. 2, No. 1): Commentary by Drakon Nikolinakos (At
1/4
This article was downloaded by: [Adelphi University]On: 23 August 2014, At: 00:24Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: MortimerHouse, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Neuropsychoanalysis: An Interdisciplinary Journalfor Psychoanalysis and the NeurosciencesPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rnpa20
Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and ChristophKoch (Vol. 2, No. 1): Commentary by DrakonNikolinakos (Athens)Drakon Derek Nikolinakos
a
aDepartment of Philosophy and History of Science, University of Athens,
Panepistimioupolis, Athens 15771, Greece, e-mail:
Published online: 09 Jan 2014.
To cite this article:Drakon Derek Nikolinakos (2001) Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and Christoph Koch (Vol. 2, No.1): Commentary by Drakon Nikolinakos (Athens), Neuropsychoanalysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Psychoanalysis and
the Neurosciences, 3:1, 101-103, DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content) contained
in the publications on ourplatform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose ofthe Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication arethe opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be reliedupon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shallnot be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and otherliabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/15294145.2001.10773341http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rnpa20 -
7/25/2019 16 Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and Christoph Koch (Vol. 2, No. 1): Commentary by Drakon Nikolinakos (At
2/4
Ongoing Discussion Vol. 2,
No 1
lar neurophysiological process underlies dreams, it
must be shown to be temporally coextensive with
dreaming. What is required is that the neurophysiolog
ical process begins when the dream begins,
is
sustained
during the dream and ends when the dream ends. Or,
if the process is hypothesized to stimulate dreams or
to terminate them, it must be temporally congruent
too. It will certainly clarify theory
if
the separate con
tents
of
a single dream are shown to be correlated with
either a single neurophysiological process or several
different ones. It will also move matters along
if
the
debaters acknowledge that they are talking about dif
ferent levels. What needs to be done is not just to
correlate neurophysiology-neurochemistry with
dreaming but to show how neurophysiology-neuro
chemistry determines in an upward fashion specific
content and how specific content relates to memories
and wishes. It would help enormously
if
Hobson
would present a specimen dream and then discuss it
at all levels.
References
Aronson, L. 1970), Functional evolution of the forebrain
in lower vertebrates. In:
Development and Evolution
of
Behavior,
ed. L. Aronson, Tobach, D. Lehrman, and
J Rosenblatt. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Brown, J. 1988),
The Life
of
the Mind.
Hillsdale, NJ: Law
rence Erlbaum.
101
Freud, S. 1891), On Aphasia. New York: International
Universities Press, 1953.
1900), The Interpretation of Dreams. Standard
Edition, 4 5. London: Hogarth Press, 1953.
Hobson, J A., Pace-Schott, C. F., Strickland, R 2000),
Dreaming and brain: Toward a cognitive neuroscience
of conscious states. Behav.
Brain Sci., 23 6 :793-842.
Kaplan-Solms, K., Solms, M. 2000), Clinical Studies n
Neuro-Psychoanalysis. London: Karnac Books.
Llinas, R., Pare, D. 1991),
Of
dreaming and wake
fulness. Neurosci, 44:521-535.
Mancia, M. 1995), One possible function of sleep. Behav.
Brain Res., 69 1-2 :203-206.
Opatow, B. 1993), On the drive rootedness
of
psychoana
lytic ego psychology. n ternat.
Psycho-Anal.,
74:437-456.
1997), The real unconscious: Psychoanalysis as a
theory of consciousness.
Amer. Psychoanal. Assn.,
45:866-890.
Salthe, S., Ed. 1985),
Evolving Hierarchical Systems.
New
York: Columbia University Press.
1996), Development and Evolution. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Smolin, L. 1997), The Life of the Cosmos. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Solms, M. 1997), What is consciousness?
Amer. Psy
choanal. Assn., 45:681-703.
Wigner, E. P. 1964), Events, laws of nature, and invariance
principles.
Science, 145:995-999.
Western Drive
Ardsley,
NY
10502
e-mail: [email protected]
Ongoing Discussion
of
Francis Crick and Christoph Koch Vol. 2, No 1 :
Commentary
by Drakon Nikolinakos Athens)
The Target Article
The main point I would like to raise concerns the pres
ence
of
a plurality
of
metaphysical commitments in the
target article. These commitments seem to arisebecause
of the different ways in which the term correlation and
its cognates may be used. I will briefly describe some
of
these in order to show what these commitments are.
Thismayplace us in a betterposition to appreciate some
of
the problems that characterize the search for the neu
ral correlates
of
consciousness.
Drakon Derek Nikolinakos, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the De
partment of Philosophy and History
of
Science at the University of Ath
ens, Greece.
It is possible to use the term in a neutral manner
to indicate coinstantiation and covariation
of
two
kinds
of
states/properties e.g., mental and physical).
In its neutral use, the term need not commit us to a
specific kind
of
relation between the two kinds. But
once we depart from this neutral position the relation
of
correlation may be fleshed out in a variety
of
direc
tions some
of
which are: causal interactionism, pre
established harmony, occasionalism, the double
aspect theory, epiphenomenalism, the identity theory,
and emergentism Kim, 1996). The first option is typi
cally associated with Cartesian dualism; this cannot
be a viable option for the authors since one
of
them
has rejected it in the past Crick, 1994). The options
of
preestablished harmony and occasionalism are also
-
7/25/2019 16 Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and Christoph Koch (Vol. 2, No. 1): Commentary by Drakon Nikolinakos (At
3/4
102
not viable alternatives since they both involve God s
intervention; such a solution is incompatible with the
naturalistic framework within which the authors de
velop their views. Epiphenomenalism could be an op
tion, but I am not sure whether the authors would be
prepared to adopt it; however, Jackendoff (2000)
thinks otherwise. That leaves us with double-aspect
theory, identity theory, and emergentism.
Double-aspect theory does not seem to be an op
tion since it is at odds with any expression
of the
reductionist program. The authors seem to gravitate
toward the final two positions, those
of
the identity
theory, which is traditionally the most dominant ex
pression
of
reductionism, and emergentism. Their
commitment to reductionism is expressed with the
claim that the hard problem of consciousness is un
likely to yield to a purely logical or philosophical at
tack. Rather, it needs to be approached in a
reductionist, scientific manner (p. 10). This ap
proach, along with the identity theory that is typically
associated with it, has been defended in the past by
one of the authors (Crick, 1994). The relation between
mental and physical states or properties is, according
to this theory, one
of
identity. Claims of the nothing
but variety are typically understood
as
identity
claims.
However, the authors also seem to be committed
to an alternative position, that of emergentism. They
maintain
we
are not implying (and have never done
so) that consciousness can be found at the level of
individual neurons but that consciousness emerges out
of the firing behavior
of
a specific and identifiable
subset
of
all neurons (p. 3). According to one
reading of the doctrine of emergentism, mental phe
nomena arise out of physical phenomena and there is
no further explanation that may be provided
of
this
fact. If this thesis is accepted, however, there is no
role that science can play since no further explanation
is available about the consciousness-brain relation.
There are also two other related emergentist theses.
According to the one, mental phenomena are irreduc
ible to the physical processes from which they emerge
and according to the other, mental properties cannot
be predicted from the knowledge of
the physical basis
that supports them. These theses, however, are at odds
with the reductionist program (Beckermann, Flohr,
and Kim, 1992). It appears that the current popularity
of emergentism goes hand in hand with the criticisms
leveled against reductionism during the past few de
cades (Kim, 1998).
Another version of emergentism, the superve
nience thesis (Kim, 1996), could be the one that the
Drakon Nikolinakos
authors would like to defend since it emphasizes the
dependence of the mental on, and its determination by,
the physical. However, the defenders and opponents of
this position perceive it as a view that is at odds with
reductionism. Perhaps a different reading of the super
venience thesis, a causalist one, according to which
there is a causal relation between mental and physical
states, would be more appealing. The authors often
express themselves along these lines. They claim that
there could be a certain subset of neurons that is r e-
sponsible for generating conscious experience, and
that qualia are most probably caused by the activity
of a small fraction of all the neurons in the brain. All
these expressions point toward a causal relationship
between mental and physical states. However, this
reading of the supervenience thesis is also in opposi
tion to reductionism and the identity theory.
If I am reading the authors correctly, then, there
seems to be a variety of metaphysical commitments
in their article, which suggests that there is a need for
some clarifications. It should also be noted that, if
the real metaphysical commitments of the authors are
expressed with reductionism and the identity theory,
they do not keep such good metaphysical company
with Freud. The reason is that Freud, as indicated in
the passage quoted on p 4 of the target article, appears
to adhere to a much more metaphysically neutral posi
tion. According to this position, there is coinstantia
tion and covariation between neural and mental states/
properties. Since no further attempt is being made to
elaborate why and how this correlation between the
two sets takes place, the position remains metaphysi
cally neutral.
The following statement is confusing: primates
are not directly aware of the neural activity in cortical
area VI, the primary visual cortex (p. 3). It is not
clear what sense to make of the phrase directly aware
of neural activity since no one claims that there is
such awareness except in some rare cases (e.g., when
due to an abnormality
of
blood vessels in the visual
cortex the subject may hear himself seeing when his
eyes are open). It could be said that in such cases one
has auditory awareness
of
cortical activity in the visual
cortex. However, I doubt that this is what the authors
have in mind.
The authors, following Jackendoff s adoption of
Marr s analysis of the visual system s shape detection,
suggest that we are directly conscious of an enriched
2-
1
/2D sketch and not of a 3D model. For example,
when
we
look at a person s face we are directly con
scious of the shape, color, movement, and so on, of
-
7/25/2019 16 Ongoing Discussion of Francis Crick and Christoph Koch (Vol. 2, No. 1): Commentary by Drakon Nikolinakos (At
4/4
Ongoing Discussion Vol. 2, No 1
the front of her face, but we are not directly conscious
of
the back of her head.
However, the 2 lf2D sketch is not the content of
a visual conscious state. As Marr 1982, p 279)
pointed out, the existence of the 2 lf2D sketch is some
thing of
which we are not certain. It is a representation
whose existence is postulated by the theory in order to
explain how the visual system processes information it
obtains from the environment. In addition, it should
also be kept in mind that, as the authors indicate,
Ma rr s proposal only concerned the detection of
shape. Therefore,
if
the proposal that we are conscious
of an enriched
2 lf2D
sketch is to have any research
value, it will have to be articulated more fully.
Observations on the
Other
Commentaries
Humphrey considers ambiguous pictures, such
as
the
Necker cube and the duck-rabbit pictures. He claims
that the sensory part remains the same while there is
a sh ift in perceptual content; for example, on e may
first see it as a duck, and then one may see it as a
rabbit. It is not clear that the sensory part remains the
same.
If
we pay close attention to what we do in these
circumstances, it appears that there is a slight shift of
the gaze with every alteration
of
perceptual content.
That is, in order to obtain a shift from the one percep
tual content to the other, the focus of visual attention
must shift to another point on the picture. It seems
that in order to see the duck, the gaze has to shift
toward the beak part of the picture on the left, and in
order to see the rabbit the gaze has to shift toward the
right part of the picture where the rabbit s mouth is;
something analogous seems to occur with the Necker
cube picture. I take this to suggest that there is a slight
shift in the sensory aspect of the experience when
watching these pictures and that this is caused by the
different images that are projected on the retina. This
is a claim that can be tested experimentally.
1 3
Epiphenomenalism
Epiphenomenalism appears to have become a rather
popular metaphysical option since an increasing num
ber of researchers adopt it with ease. Jackendoff s
reading of the target article, as well as his own theory,
are developed along these lines 2000). T he central
claim of this position is that the real wor k is done
by the neural correlates
of
consciousness and that the
mental properties
of
the brain are inert since they have
no causal powers. However, even if we assume that
this position is coherent, it may not be so appealing if
we consider the cost. By giving up the notion of mental
causation we have given up, among other things, a
fundamental way of looking a t ourselves, th at is, as
agents who are largely responsible for their actions.
Since this seems to be a rather heavy price to pay, it
may be more advisable to try to retain the notion of
mental causation within a metaphysical framework
that would support it. There are many such approaches
which, their respective merits aside, do try to explain
mental causation rather than brush it aside.
References
Beckermann, A., Flohr, H., Kim, J., Eds. 1992), Emer-
gence or Reduction? Essays on the Prospects Nonre-
ductive Physicalism.
Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Crick,
F
1994),
The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific
Searchfor the Soul. New York: Charles Scribner s Sons.
Jackendorf, R 2000), Commentary. This Journal 2 1 :
17-20.
Kim, J 1996),
Philosophy
Mind.
Boulder, CO: West
view Press.
1998),
Mind
a Physical World.
Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.
Marr, D 1982), Vision. New York: W H Freeman.
Department
Philosophy and
History
Science
University
Athens
Panepistimioupolis
Athens 15771
Greece
e mail: [email protected]