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Rudy Garns

Do the Impossible: Know Thyself - 0 views

www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm

human.nature neuroscience science

shared by Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08 - No Cached
  • Two main questions arose in my mind during the neuropsychiatric conference. The first was whether any scientific self-understanding was possible. The second was whether, if possible, it was desirable. My answer to both questions was, and is, no.
    • Rudy Garns
      Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
       
      Notice the question is whether ANY scientific self-understanding is possible, not just whether we have one now or whether neuroscience alone will provide all the answers.
  • difficult even to conceive of what a scientific self-understanding would actually be like
    • Rudy Garns
      Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
       
      So what? Why should we assume we can conceive of it prior to achieving it? It might be complicated. Perhaps it is the wort of thing we approximate over a long period of time through the scientific endeavors of lots of people.
  • How does one develop a universal law that explains an infinite number of unique events that are infused with meaning and intentionality?
    • Rudy Garns
      Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
       
      I doubt it will require a single universal law to understand human nature, or the mortivations for human behavior. At best we might develop theories that allow us to predict human behavior fairly accurately. We already try to do this personally; neuroscience, genetics, etc., should enhance those abilities considerably.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • already been answered
  • Nothing is important or significant but conscious thinking makes it so: the type of thinking, moreover, that employs moral categories that are inherently non-natural.
    • Rudy Garns
      Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
       
      it certainly doesn't seem right that conscious thinking lies behind our moral (or other) values. But even so, why would that make them non-natural?
  • The fact is that, however many factors you examine, you cannot fully explain behaviour, not even relatively simple behaviour.
    • Rudy Garns
      Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
       
      Do we need to fully explain behavior? Is it full explanation or nothing? Might there not be value in partial explanations?
  • Rudy Garns on 02 Apr 08
     
    Is it to be full understanding or nothing? I should think there would be some value in enough understanding to make useful predictions. His position is that a scientific understanding of man is undesirable, but I thinnk there is something very desirable about useful predictions.
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