Patricia Churchland on Neuroscience and Morality (BSP 81)

Patricia Churchland (photo by Nines Minquez)

BSP 81 marks the return of philosopher Patricia Churchland, who I first interviewed back in Episode 55.  Our recent conversation focuses on her latest book, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality.  We discuss the historical background and contrast Churchland's approach to that of Sam Harris in The Moral Landscape.  Then Professor Churchland discusses how recent discoveries in neuroscience are shedding light on the evolutionary origins of morality.

It's a fascinating conversation that you won't want to miss. 

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.
• Buy mp3 for $1.
• Buy Transcript for $1.
• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

References:

• On Liberty (1859), by John Stewart Mill (Available free from Project Gutenberg).
• Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain, by Patricia Smith Churchland.
• Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality, by Patricia S. Churchland.
• The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values, by Sam Harris.

Links: 

• Brain Science Podcast 55: my first interview with Patricia Churchland (2009).
• Churchland's appearance on recent Charlie Rose Show (12/5/2011).
• Interview with social psychologist Carol Tavris (2011).
• Check the episode transcript for links to the numerous scientists mentioned in this interview.

Announcements:

• Enter the new drawing to win a free copy of Braintrust by Patricia Churchland by completing the new Brain Science Podcast  Audience Survey.
• Post feedback to the BSP Fan Page on Facebook, or the Brain Science Podcast page on Google+.
• Join the Discussion in the BSP Group on Goodreads or send me email at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Neurophilosophy with Patricia Churchland (BSP 55)

Episode 55 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with highly respected philosopher Patricia Churchland.  Churchland is the author of Neurophilosophy and Brain-Wise.  She is currently on the faculty of the University of California at San Diego, and she was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in 2008.

In this interview, we talked about neurophilosophy, which is an approach to philosophy of mind that gives high priority to incorporating the empiric findings of neuroscience.   We also talk about the evolving relationship between philosophy and neuroscience.   Churchland shares her enthusiasm for how the discoveries of neuroscience are changing the way we see ourselves as human beings.  We also talked a little about the issues of reductionism that I first brought up in Episode 53.

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• Buy mp3 for $1.

• Buy Transcript for $1.

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Listen in your Favorite Audio app: Audible, Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and many more.

Recommended Reading:

• Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy, by Patricia Smith Churchland.

• Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain, by Patricia Smith Churchland.

• Supersizing the Mind: Embodiment, Action, and Cognitive Extension, by Andy Clark.

• Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are, by Steven R. Quartz andTerrence J. Sejnowski.

• The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World, by Owen J. Flanagan.

• Freedom Evolves, by Daniel C. Dennett.

Related Episodes of the Brain Science Podcast

• Episode 5: Introduction to philosophy of mind and the question of consciousnes.

• Episode 22: Interview with Christof Koch about consciousness.

• Episode 53: Discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? a defense of free will.