The Unity Puzzle
Oxford Scholarship Online June 21, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198809654.003.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the split-brain phenomenon presents opposing intuitions: separated hemispheres sometimes give the impression of two minds or spheres of consciousness, yet the subject still seems to be one person. The book's aim is to reconcile these intuitions by explaining how a split-brain person could have multiple minds. |
Abstract
This chapter introduces the major philosophical debate about the split-brain phenomenon. Split-brain surgery severs the major white matter fiber tract connecting the two cerebral hemispheres. A number of individuals who underwent this surgery later agreed to act as participants in experiments designed to reveal its psychobehavioral consequences. The basic finding is that, after they are surgically divided in this way, the two hemispheres cannot interact in all the ways they once could: indeed, split-brain subjects sometimes give the impression of having two minds and spheres of consciousness, one associated with each hemisphere. A split-brain subject nonetheless seems to be one of us, at the end of the day. The aim of the book is to reconcile these apparently opposing intuitions by explaining how a split-brain person could have multiple minds.