Prehistory of the Concept of ‘Neuroreductionism’: The Sorrowful Path of the Soul
Modern neuroscience describes humans as a biological machine in which faith, love, hope, fears, memories, dreams and freedom appear as a compelling illusion. Advanced neuroimaging techniques allow natural scientists to look inside the brain and measure its activity corresponding to the sensations of pain, color and sound. Reductionism and neurocentrism detract from the sphere of the human spirit, shrinking it to the expression «I am my brain». The position of modern brain science, postulating its key role in the generation of thoughts, decision-making and human behavior, was established gradually, it was preceded by a long period of debate and amazing discoveries, which is described in this article.