Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T01:44:31.485Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Biological neuroscience is only as radical as the evolution of mind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1999

Terry Blumenthal
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109 {blumen;shirija}@wfu.edu
James Schirillo
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109 {blumen;shirija}@wfu.edu

Abstract

A biological neuroscientific theory must acknowledge that the function of a neurological system is to produce behaviors that promote survival. Thus, unlike what Gold & Stoljar claim, function and behavior are the province of neurobiology and cannot be relegated to the field of psychological phenomena, which would then trivialize the radical doctrine if accepted. One possible advantage of adopting such a (correctly revised) radical doctrine is that it might ultimately produce a successful, evolutionarily based, theory of mind.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)