The Concept of Man and His Spirituality in Modern Neuroscientific Research: A Philosophical Analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to a critical review of a qualitatively new project of human understanding, which has been developed in modern scientific interdisciplinary research. The latter refers to neuroscience research that affects not only neurophysiology, but also claims to revolutionize the philosophical understanding of human nature and spirituality. This revolution concerns, first of all, the interpretation of spirituality as a special subjective reality, as well as the solution of the so-called "hard mind problem" ("complex problem of consciousness"). The author turns to the analysis of the concept of spirituality, which is interpreted in the context of neuroscientific research on subjective reality. Spirituality in these studies is identified with subjective reality. In the neurosciences, spirituality as a sphere of human existence, aimed at transcendental values, is replaced by subjective reality, which ultimately comes down to the activity of brain neurons. The author gives a critical assessment of this interpretation of spirituality. A special place in understanding the subjective reality of neuroscience is assigned to the problem of consciousness. The author analyzes the solution of the "complex problem of consciousness" from the standpoint of modern neuroscience. In this regard, special attention is paid to the concept of neuropsychoanalysis by Mark Solms. The author considers the concept of Marx Solms as one of the many reductionist projects that exist in modern science, reducing human nature to biological and neurophysiological processes occurring in the brain. The author points out that such reductionism leads not only to a rethinking of human nature, but also to a new vector in the development of modern philosophical anthropology – as a secondary doctrine of man that complements neuroscience.