Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reductionism, Levels of Organization, and the Mind-Body Problem

  • Chapter
Consciousness and the Brain

Abstract

Dr. Sperry’s position is complex and variegated, and I will be unable to discuss some of the issues raised by him in this volume and in other closely related papers. He has chosen to characterize his position generally as “emergent interactionism” and to spend a great deal of time distinguishing it from other views, ranging over the spectrum from dualism to materialism. His more general conception justifies and merits a more general response, which I shall present here.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Bartlett, F. C., and John, E. R. (1973): Equipotentiality quantified: The anatomical distribution of the engram. Science 181, pp. 764–767.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blachowitz, J. A. (1971): Systems theory and evolutionary models of the development of Science. Philos. Sci. 38, pp. 178–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, R. (1972): Determinism, laws, and predictability in principle. Philos. Sci. 39, 431–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronowski, J. (1970): New concepts in the evolution of complexity: Stratified stability and unbounded plans. Sythese 21, pp. 228–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T. (1958): Common fate, similarity, and other indices of the status of aggregates of persons as social entities. Behav. Sci. 3, 14–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T. (1973fl): Evolutionary epistemology. In: The Philosophy of Karl Popper. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. LaSalle, Illinois: Open Court, pp. 413–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T. (1974): “Downwards causation” in hierarchically organized biological systems. In: The Problem of Reduction in Biology. Ed. by F. Ayala and T. Dobzhansky, Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, E. A. (1966): The Gene: A Critical History, Philadelphia: Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Causey, R. (1972): Attribute-identities in microreductions. J. Philos. 69, pp. 407–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1872): The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Reprinted, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Darden, L. (1974): Reasoning in Scientific Change: The Field of Genetics at its Beginnings. Ph.D. dissertation. Committee on Conceptual Foundations of Science, University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. C. (1969): Content and Consciousness. New York: Humanities Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. C. (1971): Intentional systems. J. Philos. 68, pp. 87–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewan, E. M. (1969): Cybernetics and attention. In: Attention in Neurophysiology. Ed. by C. R. Evans and T. B. Mulholland. London: Butterworths, pp. 323–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dresden, M. (1974): Reflections on fundamentally and complexity. In: Physical Reality and Mathematical Description ( Festschrift for Joseph Jauch ) Ed. by Charles Enz and Jagdit Mehra. Reidel: Dordrecht, pp. 133–166.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Feigl, H. (1967): The Mental and the Physical. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feyerabend, P. K. (1962): Explanation, reduction, and empiricism. In: Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Ed. by H. Feigl and G. Maxwell. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 28–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J. (1968): Psychological Explanation. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J. (1974): Special sciences (or: the disunity of science as a working hypothesis). Synthese 28, pp. 97–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garfinkel, A. (1975): Explanation and Individuals. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Philosophy, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Globus, G. G. (1972): Biological foundations of the psychoneural identity hypothesis. Philos. Sci. 40, pp. 291–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Globus, G. G. (1973): Unexpected symmetries in the world knot. Science 180, pp. 1129–1137.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glymour, C. (1973): Testability without meaning: An essay on distributive justice. Department of Philosophy, Princeton University (mimeo).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, R. L. (1959): Models and the localization of function in the central nervous system. In: Key Papers: Cybernetics. Ed. by C. R. Evans and A. D. J. Robertson. London: Butterworths, pp. 91–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grunbaum, A. (1963): Philosophical Problems of Space and Time. New York: Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson, K. (1970): Asymmetries and mind-body perplexities. In: Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science Vol 4. Ed. by M. Radner and S. Winokur. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 273–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson, K. (1971): Mentality and Machines. Garden City: Doubleday (Anchor).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, N. R. (1961): Patterns of Discovery. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, N. R. (1970): A picture theory of theory meaning. In: The Nature and Function of Scientific Theories. Ed. by R. G. Colodny, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 233–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hull, D. L. (1972): Reduction in genetics—Biology or Philosophy? Philos. Sci. 39, pp. 491–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hull, D. L. (1973): Philosophy of Biology. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeans, J. (1960): An Introduction to the Kinetic Theory of Gases. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. (1964): Inference, explanation and prediction. J. Philos. 61, pp. 360–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. ( 1966: On the psycho-physical identity thesis. American Philosophical Quarterly 3, pp. 227–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. (1971): Materialism and the criteria of the mental. Synthese 22, pp. 323–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T. A. (1962): The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (2nd ed., 1970 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R. (1966): The strategy of model building in population biology. Am. Sci. 54, pp. 421–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R. (1968): Evolution in Changing Environments. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R. (1970): Complex systems. In: Towards a Theoretical Biology, v. 3. Ed. by C. H. Waddington. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, pp. 73–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R. (1974): The qualitative analysis of partially specified systems. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 231, 123–138.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewontin, R. C. (1970): Units of selection. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1, pp. 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longuet-Higgins, H. C., Willshaw, D. J., and Buneman, O. P. (1970): Theories of associative recall. Quarterly Review of Biophysics. 3, pp. 223–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon, J. (1976): The Concept of Fitness in Evolutionary Biology. Ph.D. Dissertation. Department of Philosophy, University of Chicago (in preparation).

    Google Scholar 

  • McMullin, E. (1972): The dialectics of reduction. Idealistic Studies 2, pp. 95–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. A., Galanter, E. H., and Pribram, K. H. (1960): Plans and the Structure of Behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nagel, E. (1961): The Structure of Science. New York: Harcourt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickles, T. (1973A): TWO concepts of intertheoretic reduction. J. Philos. 70, pp. 181–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickles, T. (1973b): Reduction and Conceptual Change. Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K. (1959): The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pribram, K. H. (1971a): Languages of the Brain. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1965): Mind-body identity, privacy and categories. In: Modern Materialism: Readings on Mind-Body Identity. Ed. by J. O’Connor. New York: Harcourt, 1969, pp. 145–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, F. (1962a): Strategic approaches to the study of brain models. In: Principles of Self-Organization. Ed. by H. von Foerster and G. W. Zopf, New York: Pergamon Press, pp. 385–402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, F. (1962b): Principles of Neurodynamics: Perceptions and the Theory of Brain Mechanisms, Spartan Books, Washington, D.C. (Also published by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory as Report No. VG-1196-G-8, 15 March, 1961 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, N. (1974): Progress in Modern Biology: An Alternative to Reduction. Ph.D. dissertation. Committee on Conceptual Foundations of Science, University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, W., Jeffrey, R., and Greeno, J. (1971): Statistical Explanation and Statistical Relevance. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffner, K. F. (1967): Approaches to reduction. Philos. Sci. 34, pp. 137–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sellars, W. (1963): Philosophy and the scientific image of man. In: Science, Perception and Reality. Ed. by Sellars, London: Routledge, pp. 1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapere, D. (1966): Meaning and scientific change. In: Mind and Cosmos. Ed. R. G. Colodny, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 41–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapere, D. (1969): Notes towards a post-positivistic interpretation of science. In: The Legacy of Logical Positivism. Ed. by P. Achinstein and S. F. Barker, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapere, D. (1974): Scientific theories and their domains. In: The Nature of Scientific Theories. Ed. by Frederick Suppe. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1957). A behavioral model of rational choice. In: Models of Man, Chapter 15. Ed. by Simon, New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1966a): Thinking by computers. In: Mind and Cosmos. Ed. by R. G. Colodny, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 3–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1966b): Scientific discovery and the psychology of problem solving. In: Mind and Cosmos. Ed. by R. G. Colodny, Pittsburgh, The University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 22–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1969): The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A., and Chase, W. G. (1973): Skill in chess. Am. Sci. 61, pp. 394–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sklar, L. (1967): Types of inter-theoretic reduction. Br. J. Philos. Sci. 18, pp. 109–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, R. W. (1966): Brain bisection and mechanisms of consciousness. In: Brain and Conscious Experience. Ed. by J. C. Eccles. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, R. W. (1969): A modified concept of consciousness. Psychol. Rev. 76, pp. 532–536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, R. W. (1970): An objective approach to subjective experience: Further explanation of a hypothesis. Psychol. Rev. 77, pp. 585–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, W. S. (1903): The chromosomes in heredity. Biol. Bull. 4, 231–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1964): The Explanation of Behavior. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1967): Mind-body identity, a side issue? Philos. Rev. 76, 201–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, D’Arcy W. (1961): On Growth and Form. Abridged edition, edited with commentary by J. T. Bonner. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Bekesy, G. (1967): Sensory Inhibition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddington, C. H. (1970): Paradigm for an evolutionary process. In: Towards a Theoretical Biology Vol. 2. Ed. by Waddington. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, pp. 106–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker, R. H., Levin, S. A. and Root, R. B. (1973): Niche, habitat and ecotope. Am. Nat. 107, pp. 321–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisskopf, V. F. (1975): Of atoms, mountains and stars: A study in qualitative physics. Science 187, pp. 605–612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. C. (1966): Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1970): review of G. C. Williams’ Adaptation and Natural Selection. Philos. Sci. 37, pp. 620–623.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1971a): Modern Science and the New Teleology: I—The Conceptual Foundations of Functional Analysis. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1971b): Aggregativity and complexity. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Congress for Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science. Ed. by P. Suppes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1972a): Teleology and the logical structure of function statements. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 3, pp. 1–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1972b): The machine in the ghost: The sciences of the Artificial. Invited commentary on the paper, Chance and Design in Darwin and in Neo-Darwinism, of Edward Manier at the 1972 Metaphysical Meetings (unpublished manuscript).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1974a): Complexity and organization. In: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science Vol. 20. Ed. by K. F. Schaffner and R. S. Cohen, Reidel: Dordrecht, pp. 67–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt, W. C. (1974b): The problem of spatiality in genetics and in the mental realm. In preparation.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Chicago, USA

    William C. Wimsatt

Authors
  1. William C. Wimsatt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Irvine, USA

    Gordon G. Globus

  2. University of Minnesota, USA

    Grover Maxwell

  3. University of Pittsburgh, USA

    Irwin Savodnik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1976 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wimsatt, W.C. (1976). Reductionism, Levels of Organization, and the Mind-Body Problem. In: Globus, G.G., Maxwell, G., Savodnik, I. (eds) Consciousness and the Brain. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2196-5_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2196-5_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-2198-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-2196-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation