The Consilience of Neuroscience, Jamesian Psychology, Buddhism, and Quantum Mechanics
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This excellent work reminded me of E.O Wilson's assertion that the sciences, humanities, and arts have one purpose: to give meaning to "a conviction, far deeper than a mere working proposition, that the world is orderly and can be explained by a small number of natural laws."
Dr. Jeffery Scwartz and Sharon Begley have, through a masterful integration and consilience of quantum mechanics, neuroscience, Jamesian and Buddhist psychology, done a wonderful job explaining issues in consciousness and why purposeful volition and awareness, "mindfulness" and the "power of mental force" works in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Speaking as someone with an engineering background, the authors are to be congratulated on making the scientific concepts, especially the physics concepts, such as the quantum, the Quantum Zeno Effect, and the Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment, accessible for readers who may not have a deeper knowledge often requires by other texts.
The book is illlustrated with several necessary diagrams to help the reader better understand the brain neuroanatomy, PET neuroimages, neurons, and so on.
Neocortical reorganization, or neuroplasticity, is a major relatively recent scientific finding.
This is one of the best works to holistically explain the basis for the newest rehabilitation physiotherapies and the third wave of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural psychotherapies.
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Excellent Book
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As a student studying neuroscience, I had to pick this book up, and, lucky for me, it was one of the best books I've ever read. It's informative, interesting, and all and all a very well written book. A lot of thought and research went into this work and I would definately reccomend it.
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Nails in the coffin of determinism
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Schwarz outlines scientific evidence of "neuroplasticity", the ability of the neurons in the brain to form new connections. Neuroplasticity is the result of "Attentiveness", or Mental force, and in illustrating this concept, Schwarz clearly designates between the Mind and the Brain. The Mind can change the Brain. Schwarz ties neuroplasticity to quantum mechanics, and thus tries to create a Unified Theory of Consciousness. This is an excellent book to challenge determinists (like Rita Carter) who insist that there is zero free will and we are entirely the result of biochemistry. Schwarz uses examples of scientific and psychological experiments to prove his point--this is not just abstract philosophical argumentation like so many other "Brain-philosophers" getting published today. The author addresses the infamous Libet experiment that apparently proved epiphenomenalism (the idea that consciousness has no casual impact on the brain, and the neurons work first before the mind "decides"), and this is one of the most important aspects of the book, as Libet's experiment is trotted out repeatedly to prove determinism. However, Schwarz's free will is not idealized. His interpretation of the mind is more like a sleepy sailor on a mini-sailboat. The sailor is the mind, the boat is the brain, and the wind is nature. If the sailor isn't alert, the wind will guide the boat wherever the wind takes it. However, if the sailor is attentive, he can guide the boat however he wishes. Focus and attention are necessities--when we act rashly or go w/ our immediate reaction, we are just being guided by the wind. Schwarz is a Buddhist, but his conclusions can be applied to any philosophy or religion. His more "weird" conclusions are the result of confronting the "weird" realities of Quantum Mechanics and non-locality. If there are any weaknesses in the book, it's two: 1.) the middle section on the monkeys is unnecessary, repetitive, and disgusting. He proves his point w/ human research, no need to bring this depressing garbage up of tortured monkeys, you can skip these chapters, and 2.) He is a little too hard on Descartes, as much modern day philosophers are. Is not the division between Mind and Brain, between Quantum wave fluctuation and Newtonian particles, merely updated versions of Cartesian duality? The lines may be blurred between the Mind of Volition and the Matter of classical physics, but they remain distinct on some level, if not in form than in purpose. Schwarz's dualism is far more Cartesian than modern-day postermodernism or deterministic biochemistry. "Cogito Ergo Sum" is reinforced by "Mindfull Attentiveness", not undermined.
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he is not a true scientist
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He is a spiritual person. Well I thought about what he was talking about a lot. I'm not going to explain all of my thoughts here, but I at least mention what conclusions I reached, lemme know if anyone else shares these. First of all he doesn't come out of closet and candidly say that I believe in god and I think the spiritual world is definitely involved with human brains. He keeps that hidden throughout for several reasons which mostly are obvious; he hiddenly calls those "spiritual effects", mind! So what is mind? He never answers that question. I think he does that so maybe some of his not smarter audiences conclude that maybe god exists or maybe science does explain religion somehow. And then he brings up the quantum physics and says Aha that's what it is, quantum physics explains mind but he never says how, all he says is that the classical physics doesn't explain mind it only explains brain, particles hitting each other and stuff. By involving quantum physics I think he's trying to gain more validity or legitimacy on his absolutely non-valid arguments. My final comment is "WHAT?!"
Why don't you explain what you are talking about instead of just bombarding us by your opinions? Don't just say brain sucks say why it sucks. Oh, btw I don't belong to Arkansas, I should be living in NY or CA at least.
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The Quantum Mind Matters !
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This book is on the leading edge of thought in the worlds of Consciousness and Neurology. In fact, the book's thesis is quite contrary to Classical Western Thought , which is descended from a Newtonian worldview dealing only with measurables;it is broadly termed "materialism" - and posits that there is no such thing as a "mind" , and the whole subjective world can be completely reduced to firing patterns of neurons in the brain. That is - "free will" is an illusion, and all behaviours are either conditioned responses OR are completely subordinate to the dictates of genes and other congenital limitations. Schwartz, a practitioner of Buddhist meditation and inventor of the 4-step behavioral/congnitive method of OCD treatment, resoundingly says "NO!". His experiences with mindfulness (a buddhist concept) applied to OCD reveal the stunning plasticity of the brain. Plasticity - being able, even in mature adults, to re-map and re-wire itself in response to experience and stimulus. This ability is harnessed in OCD treatment, to laboriously create alternate pathways in the brain, so that patients eventually overcome their "compulsive" behaviours. Plasticity of the brain finds many humane applications - one great example in the book is a cure for dyslexia in children. Schwartz makes the logical conclusion - with numerous examples of nerological studies, including the infamous Silver Spring Monkeys deafferentation experiments - that human will or volition , or "mind" acts upon the "matter" in the brain and causes radical reorganization to reflect the kinds of stimulus. He makes a strong case for the role of experience and stimulus in shaping our brains from gestation, infancy, childhood, and indeed, for the rest of our lives ! He then volunteers the help of quantum physics to come up with a hypothetical "mental force" that acts upon the neurotransmitters and calcium ions in the synapses of our brains, thus either enabling, or disabling certain actions and thoughts. He proposes that the "explanatory gap" that yawns between Mind and Matter be dissolved by a quantum physics explanation. Giving us a quick tour of quantum theory - Schroedinger's wave equation, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the collapse of the wave function ; and a quick tour of the human brain and tying these together with a lot of circumstantial evidence, Schwartz does a convincing job. A considerable debt is owed, in years of inhumane treatment, disfigurements and drastic surgical procedures, to the non-human primates who "volunteered" their lives for advances made in this field. To me, an outsider, it seems like every important step forward came at the expense of a monkey's skull being split open.
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