"Still in “I hate the brain ” territory , an entirely different worry is expressed by a few philosophers. They are exasperated by developments in neuroscience and psychology because these fields encroach on what the philosophers think of as their turf . Many contemporary philosophers, both in America and in Europe, trained for their jobs expecting to address questions about the nature of consciousness and knowledge and decisions without having to learn any neuroscience. Or any science, for that matter . They want to garner insights from the great books or from their own reflections. That is the true “philosophical method, ” they complain . “Why bother with the brain ? Can we not just plumb the deep questions without having to think about the brain ?”
This response is largely based on fear of job loss. You can readily sympathize with that response without wanting to turn back the clock. When cities became wired for electricity , the lamplighters had to find work elsewhere; as horses were replaced by cars, the village smithies had to learn to repair internal combustion engines. There are many things for philosophers to do, including collaborating with scientists and keeping alive the wisdom in the great books. But if they want to address how the mind works, they need to know about the brain."
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