The Study On P·M. Churchland's Philosophy Of Neuroscience

The human beings have never stopped thinking the nature of the "mind" since the ancient Greek philosopher Plato explored it. As the development of cognitive science, neuroscience, language, Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytical philosophy and other subjects, the research on mind has developed to an unprecedented level. Among the many research approaches, the U.S. University of California San Diego professor of philosophy, Paul M. Churchland starts his work called Computational Neurobiology based on philosophical study of the cognitive neuroscience. It is an important method of Computational Neurobiology to research the nature of "mind" from the scientific perspective.This paper discusses the Computational Neurobiology approach of research on mind of Churchland, and analyses his philosophical study of the cognitive neuroscience systematically. It has four chapters, and I will introduce the main contents of each one as follows:Chapter one focuses on the research of mind in philosophy and cognitive neuroscience. It is mainly on the various schools of philosophy of mind and the empirical study of mind in cognitive neuroscience, which provides a holistic context for studying the philosophy of neuroscience of Churchland following.Chapter two discusses Churchland's Ontology philosophy of Computational Neurobiology-eliminative materialism perspective. It emphasis on how the Churchland eliminate folk psychology with his eliminative materialism and how he discussing primary and secondary qualities.Chapter three discusses Churchland's epistemological of neuroscience philosophy, including his criticism to the functionalism epistemological. And we also discuss how he adders the relationship between representational models and the world modeled and he achieves the amendment of traditional epistemology.Chapter four discusses his methodology of cognitive neuroscience philosophy and Computational Neurobiology, including the methodology of mind philosophy and the study of consciousness, and proposing a new approach of mind study. And then we give an overall review and evaluation on the Computational Neurobiology.In the four chapters above, we made a sketch of the overall framework of the mind firstly, then discussed the Churchland's Ontology and methodology philosophy of Computational Neurobiology, at last gave an overall review and evaluation on the Computational Neurobiology.