• Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Store
    • E-books
  • Up Close
    • About me
    • Testimonials
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Merce Cardus

Sign up to get the last articles delivered to your email box.

How Does The Brain Store Beliefs?

in Philosophy on 20/07/15

Share1
Tweet
Pin
Share
1 Shares

Daniel C. Dennett on Imagination

Video of the day:

What if beliefs could be surgically inserted into a patient’s brain?

This is the basis of one of philosopher Daniel Dennett’s thought experiments in exploration of how the brain represents beliefs. Dennett argues that individual beliefs are part of broader idea systems and that they couldn’t possibly be stored like a library of belief sentences.

Daniel C. Dennett is the author of Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Freedom Evolves, and Darwin’s dangerous idea: Evolution and the meanings of life  and is University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.

How the brain represents information?

One of the problems that’s beset philosophers and cognitive scientists for the last 30, 40 years is how on earth the brain represents information. An eternally appealing idea is something like a language of thought that there’s brain writing or mentalese and we write — the brain writes sentences in mentalese that store the beliefs so that when you learn that giraffes are mammals, there’s someplace in your brain where the word — the mental word giraffe and the word mammal are tied together with a “is a” or something like that.  So we have a big library of sentences.  Those are our beliefs.

We have a belief box with lots of beliefs.

That’s an attractive idea of nice — it has a certain simplicity that — and we think we understand how sentences work to store information.

Well now, if that were so, could a clever enough neurosurgeon wire in a false belief just out of the blue.  So, let’s imagine that our neurosurgeon decides to wire into our brain the belief that you have an older brother living in Cleveland.  So he figures out how to write that in brainish and does all the microsurgery and there it is written in brainish in your brain.
Okay, you wake up from the anesthetic and so he says, “Yeah, do you have any siblings?”  Well, if he’s done his work well I guess the first thing you do is you say, “Yes, I have an older brother living in Cleveland.”  “Oh, what’s his name?”  And now what?  Ah, ah, ah — one of several things has to happen.  Maybe you’ll start confabulating and you’ll say, umm, his name is Alfonso, and, um um he’s a taxi driver, and he lives with his wife and two kids in the suburbs.  That’s one possibility.  In other words, you couldn’t just wire in one belief.  You’d have to wire in something which generated a whole slew of beliefs.  Alternatively, maybe you would say, “Oh my gosh.  What did I just say?  I said I had an older brother.  I don’t have an older brother.  I have a sister or I’m an only child.  What made me say that?”  In that case, what we would see is that whatever the surgeon did, it wasn’t wiring in a belief because as soon as you reflected on it, boom, it just vanished, it disappeared.

Well, if it’s a belief then it’s gotta be secured to a lot of other beliefs.  That’s just in the nature of belief.  You can’t have an isolated belief like I have an older brother living in Cleveland.  If that state was one that you seem to be in, we’d want to explore it to see what came along with it.  And either we would decide that you had some weird sort of growth in your brain that made you fixate on a sentence, sort of parrot like.  And you’d say, “I’m an only child and I have an older brother living in Cleveland.”  Which, of course, would be contradicting yourself.  What we wouldn’t decide is that you believed you had an older brother living in Cleveland.

Beliefs don’t parcel themselves out the way sentences do.  

You could take any sentence on any topic and write it on any medium you like and put it in a drawer and there it would be.  Beliefs aren’t like that.  They come in systems. They cohere in large clumps.  This is sometimes called holism and there’s still some theorists who think that holism is a bad idea.  I think it’s got to be the case.  Holism is a good idea.  That a particulate non-holistic theory of believe is a non-starter.

Share1
Tweet
Pin
Share
1 Shares

Get the Best Reads on Writing, Screenwriting, Self-Publishing & Better Living

« Happy Birthday, Cormac McCarthy!
My Life With A Psychopath Pilot »

Hi, I’m Merce!

Welcome to my site, the place where writers & publishers can find useful information, insights, resources & inspiration for writing, self-publishing & living a better ... View Post

Merce Cardus

Get Started with my Most Popular Posts

You Are Not Doing What Makes You Happy and What You Can Do About It

The Magic that Leads us to Live a Charmed Life

Letting go

The Dao of Letting Go (and Not Trying)

Fear Is For Suckers: 5 Helpful Ways To Navigate Through Fear

Getting your stuff done

5 Reasons Why You Are Not Getting Your Stuff Done

Search By Category

  • Category Index

mercecardus

Mer
Bosco verticale ↕️ vs Bosco orizzontale ↔️ Bosco verticale ↕️ vs Bosco orizzontale ↔️ 
#merinmilano #milano #italy #milan #italia #lombardia #design #madeinitaly #milanocity #igersmilano #iorestoacasa #architecture #italianstyle #italiainunoscatto #italia_inunoscatto #italia_landscape #italian_city #italian_trips #italia_super_pics #italiabella #italiani #igersitalia #italia_da_scoprire #italianart #streetart #boscoverticale
Esatto. 👌 #merinmilano #milano #italy #milan # Esatto. 👌
#merinmilano #milano #italy #milan #italia #lombardia #design #madeinitaly #milanocity #igersmilano #iorestoacasa #architecture #italianstyle #italiainunoscatto #italia_inunoscatto #italia_landscape #italian_city #italian_trips #italia_super_pics #italiabella #italiani #igersitalia #italia_da_scoprire #italianart #streetart #viaggio
Oggi solo io e te. Dating the city! 🤗 #merinmi Oggi solo io e te.
Dating the city! 🤗
#merinmilano #milano #italy #milan #italia #lombardia #design #madeinitaly #milanocity #igersmilano #iorestoacasa #architecture #italianstyle #italiainunoscatto #italia_inunoscatto #italia_landscape #italian_city #italian_trips #italia_super_pics #italiabella #italiani #igersitalia #italia_da_scoprire #italianart #streetart #friends #butfirstcoffee
So… This is IT! 😃 Right, @saminzecity ? #mer So… This is IT! 😃
Right, @saminzecity ?
#merinmilano #milano #italy #milan #italia #lombardia #design #madeinitaly #milanocity #igersmilano #iorestoacasa #architecture #italianstyle #italiainunoscatto #italia_inunoscatto #italia_landscape #italian_city #italian_trips #italia_super_pics #italiabella #italiani #igersitalia #italia_da_scoprire #italianart #streetart #friends #butfirstcoffee
Doubt is resistance; Faith is surrender. 🙏 #me Doubt is resistance;
Faith is surrender. 🙏
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers
Embrace progress ⚙️ #merinbarcelona #barcelon Embrace progress ⚙️
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers #gaudiarchitecture #sagradafamília
You can’t win if you don’t play. But the quest You can’t win if you don’t play. But the question isn’t, what do you enjoy?
The question is, what price are you willing to pay for?
.
Happy weekend! ❤️
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers
The Universe is an infinite playground of magical The Universe is an infinite playground of magical possibilities.
👉The Force is with You. 
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers
The audacity to start believing in the not-yet see The audacity to start believing in the not-yet seen.—
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers
La Sagrada Família with @lego ❤️ #merinbarce La Sagrada Família with @lego ❤️
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers  #lasagradafamilia #lego
Togetherness #merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBar Togetherness 
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers #togetherness
Feliç Diada de Sant Jordi! 🌹📚 . Ps. A new b Feliç Diada de Sant Jordi! 🌹📚
.
Ps. A new book is coming up! 😉😃🙋‍♀️
#merinbarcelona #barcelona #HolaBarcelona #catalunya #catalunyaexperience #barcelonagram #loves_barcelona #total_barcelona #raconsde_catalunya #ok_catalunya #ig_barcelona #barcelona_world #ig_catalonia #elmeupetit_pais #descobreixcatalunya #barcelonaexperience #barcelona_turisme #barcelonalife #barcelonalovers #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #nature #naturephotography #naturelovers  #santjordi2022 #feliçdiadadesantjordi #booklovers
No matter how long your journey appears to be, the No matter how long your journey appears to be, there’s never more than this: one step, one breath, one moment — Now. 
—Eckhart Tolle 
.
. 
.
. 
#merintortosa #tortosa #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #sunsetlovers #createexplore #exploretocreate #architecturelovers
A mirror to remind you who you are. . . . . #mer A mirror to remind you who you are.
.
. 
.
. 
#merintortosa #tortosa #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #sunsetlovers #createexplore #exploretocreate #architecturelovers
Relax as it is. . . . . #merintortosa #tortosa # Relax as it is.
.
. 
.
. 
#merintortosa #tortosa #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #sunsetlovers #createexplore #exploretocreate #architecturelovers
Into the wild. . . . . #merintortosa #tortosa #t Into the wild.
.
. 
.
. 
#merintortosa #tortosa #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #sunsetlovers #createexplore #exploretocreate #architecturelovers
Mini-Vatican. . . . . #merintortosa #tortosa #te Mini-Vatican.
.
. 
.
. 
#merintortosa #tortosa #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #blue #createexplore #exploretocreate #architecturelovers
Un libro con un titolo così bello si compra, e ba Un libro con un titolo così bello si compra, e basta. 🤓🌊
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 
.
. .
.
. .
#merinlampolla #lampolla #terresdelebre #igersesbre #natu #awesome_earthpix #natgeoyourshot #natureonly #natgeotravel #nature_of_our_world #ig_nature_naturally #roamtheplanet #landscape_capture #paisajesnaturales #calm #naturephotography #landscapes #landscape_photography #pixel_ig #landscape_hunter #landscape_lovers #landscapecaptures #landscapestyles_gf #getlost #skyporn #explorer #worldshotz #sea #exploretocreate #familytime
Sister Sistaaa ❤️ Let me tell you. We were hav Sister Sistaaa ❤️
Let me tell you.
We were having lunch…when suddenly…{swipe 👀}
Well, you know what they say, right?
De Madrid al cielo. 🚀😂
.
.
.
.
.
#merinmadrid #madrid #citylifemadrid #madridlovers #madridmadrid #madridcity #madridgram #igersmadrid #madridmola #madridseduce #madridlife #madridencanta #madrid_best_photos #pasion_por_madrid #total_madrid #madridmemata #madridstreetart #madridmemola #madridstreetlife #madridstyle #visitmadrid #madridneoyorkino #architecture #architecturelovers #sistersister #havingfun
When you ask for a Table for one…😄🥩 #meri When you ask for a Table for one…😄🥩
#merinmadrid #madrid #citylifemadrid #madridlovers #madridmadrid #madridcity #madridgram #igersmadrid #madridmola #madridseduce #madridlife #madridencanta #madrid_best_photos #pasion_por_madrid #total_madrid #madridmemata #madridstreetart #madridmemola #madridstreetlife #madridstyle #visitmadrid #madridneoyorkino #architecture #architecturelovers #meatlovers #tableforone
Load more... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Merce Cardus

  • Category Index
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy