Subscribe now

Letter: Brains are us

Published 17 December 2013

From Iain Petrie

Neurophilosopher Patricia Churchland argues that it can be difficult to accept that “you’re just your brain” (30 November, p 30). So it would seem. When she says, “I’ve made my peace with my brain,” it rather suggests that she regards herself as an entity distinct from her brain.

Even saying “my brain has made peace with itself” would imply, through the use of the possessive determiner “my”, that there is not a one-to-one identity relation between self and brain. Perhaps the best phrase would have been “this brain is at peace with itself”.
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK

Issue no. 2948 published 21 December 2013

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop