Love and Selfhood: Self-understanding Through Philosophy and Cognitive Neuroscience (New Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science)

After years of neurohype and a neuroskeptic backlash, this book provides a systematic analysis of the contributions to self-understanding cognitive neuroscience (CNS) and philosophy can make. The stories of five people in search of self-understanding serve as touchstone throughout the book. Their identities are tied up with what they love. The book provides in-depth analyses of CNS of love and CNS of self-reflection. It critically discusses philosophers who focus on the relation between love, self-understanding and selfhood, such as Harry Frankfurt, Susan Wolf, Charles Taylor and Søren Kierkegaard. It also builds an argument about CNS’ contributions to self-understanding more broadly, and how different these are from philosophy’s contributions. The book develops conceptual review as a philosophical method for improving the validity and comparability of CNS studies. It integrates CNS insights into its philosophical view on love and selfhood where applicable. This book thus argues and exemplifies that philosophy and CNS can work together. Acknowledgments Contents About the Author List of Tables Chapter 1: Existential Self-Understanding, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Philosophy: An Introduction References Chapter 2: Cognitive Neuroscience of Love Research Questions in CNS of Love Operationalizing Love Participants Tasks: Stimuli, Instructions, and Control Tasks Post-scan Questionnaires Results: Neural Correlates of Love Inferences About Brain Activity and Reverse Inferences About Love Conceptual Implications: Love as a Passive Peak Experience Selecting Participants: Love as Peak Experience, Love as Easy, Love as Difficult Tasks: Love as a Passive Experience Conclusions CNS of Love References Chapter 3: Cognitive Neuroscience of Self-Reflection Research Questions in CNS of Self-Reflection Operationalizing Self-reflection Participants Tasks: Stimuli, Instructions, and Control Tasks Results and Discussion in CNS of Self-Reflection Conceptual Implications: Self-Reflection as Accessing a Personality Schema Conclusions CNS of Self-Reflection References Chapter 4: Philosophers of Existential Selfhood Being a Self by Loving Others Meaning in Life Through Loving What Is Worthy of Love Love Structuring Selfhood Love, Self, and Philosophy Being a Self by Narrating One’s Self Narrative Selves Versus Existential Selves Becoming a Self by Relating to Oneself A Natural Science of Existential Selfhood Philosophy’s Contributions to Understanding Existential Selfhood Interpretation in Philosophy and Cognitive Neuroscience References Chapter 5: Conceptual Review: Philosophy for Cognitive Neuroscience Developing Reliable and Valid Tasks Problems with Current Task Development Validity Problems The Comparability Problem Database Building and Problems of Comparability and Validity Conceptual Review Setting Up an Inventory of Task Choices Analyzing Conceptual Implications of Task Choices Drawing Conclusions and Consequences Conceptual Review Versus Checking for Confounds Conceptual Review Facilitates Database Building and Neurophilosophy Conceptual Review, Databases, and Cognitive Ontologies Conceptual Review and Existing Neurophilosophy Conceptual Review and Further Concepts Requiring Analysis Improving Interpretation of Results Toward a Reflexive Cognitive Neuroscience References Chapter 6: Cognitive Neuroscience’s Contributions to Self-Understanding Humans as Embrained Beings Triangulation Predicting Future Behavior Making Policy About Brains: The Case of the Sleepy Teenagers Conclusion References Chapter 7: Understanding Existential Self-Understanding Existential Selfhood and What Truly Matters Existential Selfhood and the Relations That Shape Us Self-Understanding: Reflexivity and the Loops That We Are Questions at Stake in Existential Self-Understanding References Chapter 8: Conclusion: Coexistence and Collaboration Between Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy Existential Self-Understanding References Appendix A: Participants and Tasks in CNS of Love Appendix B: Participants and Tasks in CNS of Self-Reflection Bibliography Index After years of neurohype and a neuroskeptic backlash, this book provides a systematic analysis of the contributions to self-understanding cognitive neuroscience (CNS) and philosophy can make. The stories of five people in search of self-understanding serve as touchstone throughout the book. Their identities are tied up with what they love. The book provides in-depth analyses of CNS of love and CNS of self-reflection. It critically discusses philosophers who focus on the relation between love, self-understanding and selfhood, such as Harry Frankfurt, Susan Wolf, Charles Taylor and Sren Kierkegaard. It also builds an argument about CNS contributions to self-understanding more broadly, and how different these are from philosophys contributions. The book develops conceptual review as a philosophical method for improving the validity and comparability of CNS studies. It integrates CNS insights into its philosophical view on love and selfhood where applicable. This book thus argues and exemplifies that philosophy and CNS can work together. Annemarie van Stee is lecturer in philosophy at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands "After years of neurohype and a neuroskeptic backlash, this book provides a systematic analysis of the contributions to self-understanding cognitive neuroscience (CNS) and philosophy can make. The stories of five people in search of self-understanding serve as touchstone throughout the book. Their identities are tied up with what they love. The book provides in-depth analyses of CNS of love and CNS of self-reflection. It critically discusses philosophers who focus on the relation between love, self-understanding and selfhood, such as Harry Frankfurt, Susan Wolf, Charles Taylor and Sren Kierkegaard. It also builds an argument about CNS contributions to self-understanding more broadly, and how different these are from philosophys contributions. The book develops conceptual review as a philosophical method for improving the validity and comparability of CNS studies. It integrates CNS insights into its philosophical view on love and selfhood where applicable. This book thus argues and exemplifies that philosophy and CNS can work together. "--Back cover