2003 UW Science Forum: Can the Mind Just Be a Machine Lecture Summary
Since the Renaissance, discoveries in astronomy changed our view of the Earth’s place in the universe, and discoveries in biology changed our view of Man’s place among living things. This lecture will highlight discoveries in neurobiology that begin to affect our view of the mind. We understand the neural signaling systems that underlie our computer-like processing of vision and the organization of our motor outputs. We begin to understand the signals that mediate changes of personality, mood and mental state. We have experimental approaches to learning and memory. As we progress in these areas, more and more mental processes will be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry.
Is the exploration of the mind “an exploration of inner space?”