The Nature of Scientific Understanding

Abstract

This book addresses the issue of how higher cognition can be understood in terms of the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry of the human brain. Much is known about the chemical processes within and between neurons, and this knowledge has, for example, led to practical applications in the area of drugs to treat brain diseases and deficits. Much is also known about the interactions between neurons, leading to the modelling of interacting groups of neurons in anatomical structures. Much is known about anatomical structures in the brain, and the different deficits that can result from damage to different structures. Finally, a great deal is known about cognition, the vast range of perceptual, memory and behavioural phenomena that can be observed. Within each of these domains there is understanding of the processes of the domain, but between domains the understanding is much more restricted.