Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

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190915

Mind, it does matter

Karl H. Pribram

pp. 97-111

Abstract

The title of this paper, "Mind, It Does Matter," is a variant on the old solipsistic saw: "Never mind, no matter." I have always been intrigued by this denial of the mind-brain problem but have found it untenable in pursuing neurobehavioral and neuropsychological research. The results of the research - and I am aware of the criticism that the results of brain research can have no bearing on ontological issues — have led me to a position best described as a biological constructional realism. As a biologist and a physician I can attest to the "reality" of the psychological as well as the physical constructions that I face daily in laboratory and clinic. My realism is therefore neither naive nor physicalistic. In addition, it differs from critical realism in its emphasis on construction; critical realists are prone to accept their perceptions of the physical world as more or less veridical - the constructionalist is apt to emphasize the relativistic nature of consensual validation.

Publication details

Published in:

Spicker Stuart, Engelhardt Tristram (1976) Philosophical dimensions of the neuro-medical sciences: proceedings of the second trans-disciplinary symposium on philosophy and medicine held at farmington, connecticut, may 15–17, 1975. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 97-111

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-1473-1_7

Full citation:

Pribram Karl H. (1976) „Mind, it does matter“, In: Spicker & T. Engelhardt (eds.), Philosophical dimensions of the neuro-medical sciences, Dordrecht, Springer, 97–111.