Reminds me of my post graduate course in Philosophy of Consciousness.
The phenomenon called explanatory gap.
the term introduced by philosopher Joseph Levine Explanation gap in “physicalist” theories of mind is struggle to explaine how physical properties correspond to how things feel when experienced.
For example, saying “Pain is activation of certain fibers”, you are right in sense of physiology, unfortunately it does not help us to understand how pain feels when it hurts.
And then I recall studying the phenomenon of Pain. “Feeling pain and being in pain”- another topic and another GAP. There’s a massive difference between actually feeling something (pain) and being able to give it emotional response. Apparently, the pain exists in our mind, we develop specific response to it as “unpleasant, unbearable, upsetting, bad” feeling. Patients after certain type of leycotomia (brain surgery) with dissection of the area responsible, were unable to BE in pain, though they could feel it. When hurt, they laughed. Unfortunately most of them were dead soon, lost the ability to protect themselves. Pain no longer were their guard; they lost their instincts, some even demonstrated silly self harming behaviour.
Mind the gap!
Iryna Brand
Comment by Iwyna Brand — February 23, 2017 @ 9:51 pm
Mind- the Gap
Reminds me of my post graduate course in Philosophy of Consciousness.
The phenomenon called explanatory gap.
the term introduced by philosopher Joseph Levine Explanation gap in “physicalist” theories of mind is struggle to explaine how physical properties correspond to how things feel when experienced.
For example, saying “Pain is activation of certain fibers”, you are right in sense of physiology, unfortunately it does not help us to understand how pain feels when it hurts.
And then I recall studying the phenomenon of Pain. “Feeling pain and being in pain”- another topic and another GAP. There’s a massive difference between actually feeling something (pain) and being able to give it emotional response. Apparently, the pain exists in our mind, we develop specific response to it as “unpleasant, unbearable, upsetting, bad” feeling. Patients after certain type of leycotomia (brain surgery) with dissection of the area responsible, were unable to BE in pain, though they could feel it. When hurt, they laughed. Unfortunately most of them were dead soon, lost the ability to protect themselves. Pain no longer were their guard; they lost their instincts, some even demonstrated silly self harming behaviour.
Mind the gap!
Iryna Brand
Comment by Iwyna Brand — February 23, 2017 @ 9:51 pm