Abstract
Any complete understanding of human psychology must take into account that a brain’s actions in the world are mediated by the body it belongs to. In the process of such interaction the human being creates artificial things, structures and mechanisms, such as technology, relationships, and culture. The subjective world is not simply the interactions between neurons at different systemic levels, but the existence of mental contents, which are determined by specific features of a certain domain of reality with which a cognitive agent interacts by means of her actions. It is possible to understand specific features of the subjective world with the conception of the “embodied” and “inactive” cognition. In this framework, the problems of consciousness of consciousness (introspection), free will, the possibility of “reading” another mind and constructing mental phenomena are analyzed. If cognitive studies are not used for manipulating humans, and are not means of human degradation (such danger exists) they must take into consideration specific features of the human phenomenon: the belonging of the human being to the social world and the world of culture. The development of cognitive studies can lead humans to new levels and contribute to new interpretations of humanism. However, under certain conditions, this development can lead to the death of the human being. This paper shows that some Soviet philosophers and psychologists, during the second half of the twentieth century, anticipated the formulations and solutions of several contemporary key problems in cognitive science before these problems emerged.
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Notes
Some mentally ill persons assert that their behavior and even thoughts are governed by external forces and so that their selves do not exist. However, in this case they refer to their selves as objects of awareness. Nevertheless, their assertions as specific actions presuppose their authors, in other words the existence of selves (Metzinger 2003).
D. Dennett considers the Self to be a center of narrative gravitation (Dennett 1991, p. 418).
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Lektorsky, V.A. The human being in the context of contemporary cognitive studies and the Russian tradition. Stud East Eur Thought 73, 19–35 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-020-09375-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-020-09375-1