CJ Stevens - Metaphysiology

#Neuroscience folk designing behavior experiments & wishing to boost their conceptual grasp of the embodied/embedded mind should read #Dewey:

"While the optical apparatus may be isolated in anatomical dissection, it never /functions/ in isolation. [...] The habitual properties of lines cannot be got rid of even in an experiment that endeavors to isolate the experience of lines from everything else." (1934)

Insight transposable to countless other cases.

#philosophy
@neuro @cogsci @philosophy

Dec 12, 2022 at 2:06pmWeb
Show threadYohan John 🤖🧠Dec 15, 2022

What does he mean by 'habitual properties of lines'?

@WorldImagining @neuro @cogsci @philosophy

Show threadCJ Stevens - MetaphysiologyDec 15, 2022
@DrYohanJohn Lines as experienced in real life; edges of books and buildings, horizons, contours of pencils, strings of yoyos, etc.
Show threadYohan John 🤖🧠Dec 15, 2022

@WorldImagining

Right but how can lines have habits?

Show threadCJ Stevens - MetaphysiologyDec 15, 2022
@DrYohanJohn Ah, I see. No, lines don't have habits, rather lines are habitually encountered in nature, in experience, and through these experiential encounters lines gain properties (in experience). Dewey wants to say that even if we present lines in a "pure" manner, observing them, experiencing them, will implicitly elicit those "habitual properties" accrued from our past experiences of lines in the wild. Dewey isn't interested in any objects per se. Only in our experiences of objects.
Show threadAlessandro D’AusilioDec 17, 2022

@WorldImagining @neuro @cogsci @philosophy

Loved Dewey, a while back ago, when writing my dissertation. Nice quote here!

Show threadCJ Stevens - MetaphysiologyDec 17, 2022

@aledaus You'll find lots more on my feed 🙂 And plenty more to come too; he's the central philosopher to my own current research.

https://mastodon.social/@WorldImagining/109354021640173251

Show threadAlessandro D’AusilioDec 17, 2022
@WorldImagining looking forward to read more!👏