What’s Neuroconscience?
Neuroconscience. Originally I wanted to name the blog ‘philoscience’, the last of my anonymous internet monikers. I asked Shaun Gallagher about it and he said it made him think of ‘love science’, when clearly I wanted to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of my research. So he suggested ‘conscience’. Conscience has a split etymology: in English it typically refers to moral consciousness or morality in general. In french and latin however, the word also means ‘consciousness’ and ‘the science of consciousness’.
I added in neuro because I’m a neuroscientist. I think it’s my least favorite part of the title, but at least it’s true to content. Anyway, the goal of this blog, and my research, is to investigate shifting neural substrates and shifting consciousness. We live in troubled times, and I fundamentally believe that if we are survive them, we must get to know ourselves a bit better. This means paying attention to philosophy, neuroscience, and technology. These three things define who we are and give us hope for a more cohesive, brighter future.
Old manifesto:
neuroplasticity:cognition:research
Additionally, you can find posts on neuroconscience about the every day in-and-outs of academia. I support fair-use and open knowledge sharing, and enjoy helping others turn their ideas into real research projects. Practical topics include; applying to graduate school, conferences, publishing a paper, picking a supervisor, as well as more specific tales of my experiences as an American researcher in Denmark.
This is a project in both neurophilosophical research and journaling. Neuroconscience is thus a forum for developing ideas; the seeds of future papers and projects. Although the writings here are generally academically rigorous in nature, this as a place for free flowing thoughts, commentary, and synthesis. The style is informal- many claims might go unreferenced, the synthesis of bits and pieces I pick up at conferences, meetings, papers, and every day discussions with my colleagues. Of course, anything I do claim is open to debate, and I am more than happy to provide references for the genuinely curious. But- as this is as much a project in recording the development of my PhD as it is a serious forum for scientific and philosophical debate, my posts are informal. No boring conference papers here.
More specifically, you can look for a post every 1-2 weeks regarding some theory, finding, or speculation I find interesting. These include much-twitted articles as well as those I find particularly interesting that may have fallen through the cracks. If you are interested in following my reading, or finding something I mention in post, chances are you can find the reference in either my shared google or twitter feed. As my research is generally centered around neuroplasticity, social cognition, and extended/enactive cognition, it is a safe bet that most updates will be along these lines. In the future, you can check here for updates on my own research, including live feedback on conferences, data analysis, and publications.
Finally, as this is a research blog, in which I will be developing ideas along the course of my PhD, I emphasize that many of the ideas may be half-formed and not really ready for public consumption. I believe that writing and sharing are important educational tools, and that by developing my ideas in the public sphere I might be less prone to dogma and dead-ends. Please understand that all posts are thus a kind of exploratory record of my thoughts and not necessarily sound scientific or philosophical quality!
I would recommend a Facebook page for such an informative blog. Please create one
I actually have made one, but have not done much with it as of yet. Here is the URL- if more people sign up I may try to use it a bit more. Thanks for the encouragement!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Neuroconscience/117988001607002
The neuroconscience must focus on understanding and exploring the root of reflective consciousness, its significance in semi comatose stage, its role in hallucinations experienced by both normal and men with mental disorders. Epistemologically, will the cessation of neuroconscience,the link with objective objects result in void or lead to a private subjective non-sharable conscience?The bounds of Neuroscience is to be defined.