6533b852fe1ef96bd12aaa61

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Overcoming Neuroessentialism. Towards an Integral Notion of Subjectivity for Moral Neuroeducation

subject

description

The aim of this chapter is to underscore a series of significant philosophical flaws encountered in current research devoted to neuroscience and neuroethics, and furthermore to challenge the neuroessentialist paradigm that locates subjectivity within the confines of the brain. Instead I argue for an integral concept of the self that is based within the body, and whose plural character is permeated with values, emotions and feelings, while also being situated within the community of the lifeworld. Research on moral neuroeducation, and neuroscience in general, should develop a more holistic approach towards subjectivity and look at the person as a psychophysical and social being, with a multiplicity of equally real dimensions that are not reducible to neuroscientific terms. I argue for an integral notion of the self and of human reality that addresses the brain, the body and the lifeworld, since each of these perspectives constitutes an essential part of our subjectivity and self-understanding. In the first section, I argue in favour of the vigour of a Nietzschean vision and critique with regard to science. Attention is then turned to neuroessentialism which is discussed in opposition to embodied theories of cognition that stress the role of the body in the creation of a sense of self. Finally, I consider the role of the socially situated self-experience within the lifeworld in the context of the conformation of personal subjectivity.