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Summary
Summary
Present-day behavioral and cognitive neuroscience is based on the idea that the conventional philosophical theory of the mind provides a reliable guide to the functional organization of the brain. Consequently, much effort has been expended in a search for the neural basis of such psychological categories as memory, attention, emotion, motivation, and perception. This book argues that (a) conventional psychological concepts originate from the philosophical speculations of ancient Greek philosophers, especially Plato and Aristotle; (b) there is serious doubt that these ancient philosophical analyses provide a reliable guide to the understanding of the human mind, human behavior, or the organization of the brain; and (c) that modern scientific studies of animal behavior provide a better guide to the study of the functional organization of the brain than is provided by conventional psychological concepts.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Vanderwolf (psychology, Univ. of Western Ontario) critiques current approaches to the study of the neural basis of mind, particularly as they apply to psychological processes such as perception, attention, motivation, emotion, memory, and cognition. In his view, scientists will not make much headway following this "mental" course because the concepts are not well defined or observable and in fact mirror a philosophical approach akin to that of the reflexologists, ethologists, and behaviorists of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. According to Vanderwolf, neuroscientists must explain not the hypothetical mental processes but rather the neural control of behavior. The essays gathered here muse on the implications of this approach and how it contributes to the study of the evolution of behavior. Vanderwolf reminds those interested in the field of the brain, behavior, and the mind that science works best when it rests on objective data. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. C. R. Timmons Drew University
