This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descart... more This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descartes, in the context of the scientific revolution in the second half of the seventeenth century, both in France and in England. It is an attempt to historicize ongoing debates within the cognitive sciences and the philosophy of mind about the problem of consciousness. By reconstructing a history of the status of the self-aware, human mind through the history of scientific explanation, I address the question of whether or not a complete, scientific explanation of higher consciousness is possible. Adopting a conceptual, rather than chronological framework, I concentrate on figures who played a role in the scientific, theological and philosophical debates of their day, rather than on the subjects studied in modern philosophy curricula, although Descartes, Locke and Malebranche are present throughout. Part I focuses mainly on post-Cartesian views on dualism. Part II relates these theoretical d...
Paper given at the third interntational conference on the philosophy of wine, Pollenzo, 30-31 MAY... more Paper given at the third interntational conference on the philosophy of wine, Pollenzo, 30-31 MAY 2008
Response to John Brockman's Edge 2013 question: What *should* we be worried about? (All responses... more Response to John Brockman's Edge 2013 question: What *should* we be worried about? (All responses have been published in book format by HarperCollins, 2014.)
Published in revue Corps (2010), Nº 8 – Mars 2010 – Bonnes humeurs ?
Les humeurs sont à la mod... more Published in revue Corps (2010), Nº 8 – Mars 2010 – Bonnes humeurs ?
Les humeurs sont à la mode: le corps passionnel est au centre de notre culture, avec ses besoins, ses plaisirs, son équilibre et son mal-être. L’émotion est à racon-ter, l’exercice doit faire suer, la vie sexuelle se publicise. Le corps médical est humeur à part entière : les tests sanguins précèdent le diagnostic holistique dans l’analyse de la maladie et donc dans la recherche de l’équilibre optimal et du bien-être. Nos humeurs sont devenues des impératifs moraux : les décharges émotionnelles sont à exhiber avant de s’équilibrer. Nos discours signifient peu sans l’expression sincère des passions qui les informent. Nous sommes des corps-monades cherchant leur bien-être, protégés des pollutions et miasmes externes.Comment notre corps s’est-il ainsi transformé ? Comment l’intériorité est-elle devenue externe ? Et quel est le rapport entre le monde intérieur maintenant ouvert à l’analyse et l’état du corps dans son environnement social ? Cette transformation a sa propre histoire, qu’il convient de retracer.
As evolved creatures, we fit quite well into our environment. We have senses to perceive it, musc... more As evolved creatures, we fit quite well into our environment. We have senses to perceive it, muscles and nerves to act upon it. We do not need to go to university to learn how to walk, talk, run, and distinguish hot from cold, day from night, liquid from solid, dark from bright. Yet we have evolved in such a way that we are capable of wondering how we can jump and run, what it is that makes water cold or hot, how we see, feel, hear, and hurt. If we call common sense the cognitive faculty we are born with, then one part of that common sense is the very faculty to ask basic questions such as those. And given how sophisticated can be our commonsensical questions and answers, ordinary, everyday, "folk" knowledge is worthy of some-expert-study.
Many physicians, anatomists and natural philosophers engaged in attempts to map the seat of the s... more Many physicians, anatomists and natural philosophers engaged in attempts to map the seat of the soul during the so-called Scientific Revolution of the European seventeenth century. The history of these efforts needs to be told in light of the puzzlement bred by today’s strides in the neurological sciences. The accounts discussed here, most centrally by Nicolaus Steno, Claude Perrault and Thomas Willis, betray the acknowledgement that a gap remained between observable form, on the one hand, and motor and sensory functions, on the other. Observation yielded information about form, but did not guarantee a constant correlation with presumed function, while the mechanisms of sense and movement did not ªt in with accounts of action and cognition whose purpose was to place the connection between active body and willful, conscious soul onto a descriptive rather than metaphysical plane. Teleology was now no longer a helpful tool in the disciplines of anatomy and physiology; the consequences of this are still with us.
The Brain --is wider than the Married to an absent military man, the virtuous Présidente de Tourv... more The Brain --is wider than the Married to an absent military man, the virtuous Présidente de Tourvel, in Choderlos de Laclos's Les liaisons dangereuses, is one of literature's great epistolary victims.
This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descart... more This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descartes, in the context of the scientific revolution in the second half of the seventeenth century, both in France and in England. It is an attempt to historicize ongoing debates within the cognitive sciences and the philosophy of mind about the problem of consciousness. By reconstructing a history of the status of the self-aware, human mind through the history of scientific explanation, I address the question of whether or not a complete, scientific explanation of higher consciousness is possible. Adopting a conceptual, rather than chronological framework, I concentrate on figures who played a role in the scientific, theological and philosophical debates of their day, rather than on the subjects studied in modern philosophy curricula, although Descartes, Locke and Malebranche are present throughout. Part I focuses mainly on post-Cartesian views on dualism. Part II relates these theoretical debates to discussions about the nature of scientific enquiry. The thesis begins with Fellows of the Royal Society, including William Holder and George Dalgarno, who discussed the possibility of devising a language for the deaf, as well as the nature of language, ideas and perception. Orthodox followers and later interpreters of Descartes like Gérauld de Cordemoy, François Fenelon and Louis de La Forge also wrote about these issues. Debates over the Cartesian 'beast-machine' thesis and over definitions of reason and instinct, are considered next, by looking at the works of Ignace-Gaston Pardies, Antoine Dilly and Pierre Bayle. These discussions were a manifestation of the need to define human nature apart from its physical embodiment. Part II begins with a consideration of the various ways that sceptical traditions informed programmes of scientific enquiry on both sides of the Channel, through the writings of Joseph Glanvill and Bernard de Fontenelle, among others. Arguments about teleology and about the relation between anatomical form and physiological function by thinkers and natural philosophers such as Robert Boyle, Nicolaus Steno and Thomas Willis are treated in the next chapter. These enquiries prepare the ground for the final chapter, which considers texts by physicians and anatomists, including Claude Perrault and Guillaume Lamy, on the physiology of the 'corporeal soul'. 3
This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descart... more This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descartes, in the context of the scientific revolution in the second half of the seventeenth century, both in France and in England. It is an attempt to historicize ongoing debates within the cognitive sciences and the philosophy of mind about the problem of consciousness. By reconstructing a history of the status of the self-aware, human mind through the history of scientific explanation, I address the question of whether or not a complete, scientific explanation of higher consciousness is possible. Adopting a conceptual, rather than chronological framework, I concentrate on figures who played a role in the scientific, theological and philosophical debates of their day, rather than on the subjects studied in modern philosophy curricula, although Descartes, Locke and Malebranche are present throughout. Part I focuses mainly on post-Cartesian views on dualism. Part II relates these theoretical d...
Paper given at the third interntational conference on the philosophy of wine, Pollenzo, 30-31 MAY... more Paper given at the third interntational conference on the philosophy of wine, Pollenzo, 30-31 MAY 2008
Response to John Brockman's Edge 2013 question: What *should* we be worried about? (All responses... more Response to John Brockman's Edge 2013 question: What *should* we be worried about? (All responses have been published in book format by HarperCollins, 2014.)
Published in revue Corps (2010), Nº 8 – Mars 2010 – Bonnes humeurs ?
Les humeurs sont à la mod... more Published in revue Corps (2010), Nº 8 – Mars 2010 – Bonnes humeurs ?
Les humeurs sont à la mode: le corps passionnel est au centre de notre culture, avec ses besoins, ses plaisirs, son équilibre et son mal-être. L’émotion est à racon-ter, l’exercice doit faire suer, la vie sexuelle se publicise. Le corps médical est humeur à part entière : les tests sanguins précèdent le diagnostic holistique dans l’analyse de la maladie et donc dans la recherche de l’équilibre optimal et du bien-être. Nos humeurs sont devenues des impératifs moraux : les décharges émotionnelles sont à exhiber avant de s’équilibrer. Nos discours signifient peu sans l’expression sincère des passions qui les informent. Nous sommes des corps-monades cherchant leur bien-être, protégés des pollutions et miasmes externes.Comment notre corps s’est-il ainsi transformé ? Comment l’intériorité est-elle devenue externe ? Et quel est le rapport entre le monde intérieur maintenant ouvert à l’analyse et l’état du corps dans son environnement social ? Cette transformation a sa propre histoire, qu’il convient de retracer.
As evolved creatures, we fit quite well into our environment. We have senses to perceive it, musc... more As evolved creatures, we fit quite well into our environment. We have senses to perceive it, muscles and nerves to act upon it. We do not need to go to university to learn how to walk, talk, run, and distinguish hot from cold, day from night, liquid from solid, dark from bright. Yet we have evolved in such a way that we are capable of wondering how we can jump and run, what it is that makes water cold or hot, how we see, feel, hear, and hurt. If we call common sense the cognitive faculty we are born with, then one part of that common sense is the very faculty to ask basic questions such as those. And given how sophisticated can be our commonsensical questions and answers, ordinary, everyday, "folk" knowledge is worthy of some-expert-study.
Many physicians, anatomists and natural philosophers engaged in attempts to map the seat of the s... more Many physicians, anatomists and natural philosophers engaged in attempts to map the seat of the soul during the so-called Scientific Revolution of the European seventeenth century. The history of these efforts needs to be told in light of the puzzlement bred by today’s strides in the neurological sciences. The accounts discussed here, most centrally by Nicolaus Steno, Claude Perrault and Thomas Willis, betray the acknowledgement that a gap remained between observable form, on the one hand, and motor and sensory functions, on the other. Observation yielded information about form, but did not guarantee a constant correlation with presumed function, while the mechanisms of sense and movement did not ªt in with accounts of action and cognition whose purpose was to place the connection between active body and willful, conscious soul onto a descriptive rather than metaphysical plane. Teleology was now no longer a helpful tool in the disciplines of anatomy and physiology; the consequences of this are still with us.
The Brain --is wider than the Married to an absent military man, the virtuous Présidente de Tourv... more The Brain --is wider than the Married to an absent military man, the virtuous Présidente de Tourvel, in Choderlos de Laclos's Les liaisons dangereuses, is one of literature's great epistolary victims.
This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descart... more This thesis explores the ways in which the mind-body relationship was problematized after Descartes, in the context of the scientific revolution in the second half of the seventeenth century, both in France and in England. It is an attempt to historicize ongoing debates within the cognitive sciences and the philosophy of mind about the problem of consciousness. By reconstructing a history of the status of the self-aware, human mind through the history of scientific explanation, I address the question of whether or not a complete, scientific explanation of higher consciousness is possible. Adopting a conceptual, rather than chronological framework, I concentrate on figures who played a role in the scientific, theological and philosophical debates of their day, rather than on the subjects studied in modern philosophy curricula, although Descartes, Locke and Malebranche are present throughout. Part I focuses mainly on post-Cartesian views on dualism. Part II relates these theoretical debates to discussions about the nature of scientific enquiry. The thesis begins with Fellows of the Royal Society, including William Holder and George Dalgarno, who discussed the possibility of devising a language for the deaf, as well as the nature of language, ideas and perception. Orthodox followers and later interpreters of Descartes like Gérauld de Cordemoy, François Fenelon and Louis de La Forge also wrote about these issues. Debates over the Cartesian 'beast-machine' thesis and over definitions of reason and instinct, are considered next, by looking at the works of Ignace-Gaston Pardies, Antoine Dilly and Pierre Bayle. These discussions were a manifestation of the need to define human nature apart from its physical embodiment. Part II begins with a consideration of the various ways that sceptical traditions informed programmes of scientific enquiry on both sides of the Channel, through the writings of Joseph Glanvill and Bernard de Fontenelle, among others. Arguments about teleology and about the relation between anatomical form and physiological function by thinkers and natural philosophers such as Robert Boyle, Nicolaus Steno and Thomas Willis are treated in the next chapter. These enquiries prepare the ground for the final chapter, which considers texts by physicians and anatomists, including Claude Perrault and Guillaume Lamy, on the physiology of the 'corporeal soul'. 3
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Papers by Noga Arikha
Les humeurs sont à la mode: le corps passionnel est au centre de notre culture, avec ses besoins, ses plaisirs, son équilibre et son mal-être. L’émotion est à racon-ter, l’exercice doit faire suer, la vie sexuelle se publicise. Le corps médical est humeur à part entière : les tests sanguins précèdent le diagnostic holistique dans l’analyse de la maladie et donc dans la recherche de l’équilibre optimal et du bien-être. Nos humeurs sont devenues des impératifs moraux : les décharges émotionnelles sont à exhiber avant de s’équilibrer. Nos discours signifient peu sans l’expression sincère des passions qui les informent. Nous sommes des corps-monades cherchant leur bien-être, protégés des pollutions et miasmes externes.Comment notre corps s’est-il ainsi transformé ? Comment l’intériorité est-elle devenue externe ? Et quel est le rapport entre le monde intérieur maintenant ouvert à l’analyse et l’état du corps dans son environnement social ? Cette transformation a sa propre histoire, qu’il convient de retracer.
Les humeurs sont à la mode: le corps passionnel est au centre de notre culture, avec ses besoins, ses plaisirs, son équilibre et son mal-être. L’émotion est à racon-ter, l’exercice doit faire suer, la vie sexuelle se publicise. Le corps médical est humeur à part entière : les tests sanguins précèdent le diagnostic holistique dans l’analyse de la maladie et donc dans la recherche de l’équilibre optimal et du bien-être. Nos humeurs sont devenues des impératifs moraux : les décharges émotionnelles sont à exhiber avant de s’équilibrer. Nos discours signifient peu sans l’expression sincère des passions qui les informent. Nous sommes des corps-monades cherchant leur bien-être, protégés des pollutions et miasmes externes.Comment notre corps s’est-il ainsi transformé ? Comment l’intériorité est-elle devenue externe ? Et quel est le rapport entre le monde intérieur maintenant ouvert à l’analyse et l’état du corps dans son environnement social ? Cette transformation a sa propre histoire, qu’il convient de retracer.