Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Stephen Mumford, Hippocrates and Edouard Machery

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2 ideas

17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 1. Physical Mind
All of our happiness and misery arises entirely from the brain [Hippocrates]
     Full Idea: Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain alone, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrow, pains, griefs and tears.
     From: Hippocrates (Hippocrates of Cos on the mind [c.430 BCE], p.32)
     A reaction: If this could be assertedly so confidently at that date, why was the fact so slow to catch on? Brain injuries should have convinced everyone.
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 4. Connectionism
Connectionists cannot distinguish concept-memories from their background, or the processes [Machery]
     Full Idea: Connectionists typically do not distinguish between processes and memory stores, and, more importantly, it is unclear whether connectionists can draw a distinction between the knowledge stored in a concept and the background.
     From: Edouard Machery (Doing Without Concepts [2009], 1.1)
     A reaction: In other words connectionism fails to capture the structured nature of our thinking. There is an innate structure (which, say I, should mainly be seen as 'mental files').