Imagination and the Meaningful Brain (Philosophical Psychopathology) [Hardcover]

Arnold H. Modell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003 | ISBN-10: 026213425X | ISBN-13: 978-0262134255

The ultimate goal of the cognitive sciences is to understand how the brain works—how it turns "matter into imagination." In Imagination and the Meaningful Brain, psychoanalyst Arnold Modell claims that subjective human experience must be included in any scientific explanation of how the mind/brain works. Contrary to current attempts to describe mental functioning as a form of computation, his view is that the construction of meaning is not the same as information processing. The intrapsychic complexities of human psychology, as observed through introspection and empathic knowledge of other minds, must be added to the third-person perspective of cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Assuming that other mammals are conscious and conscious of their feelings, Modell emphasizes evolutionary continuities and discontinuities of emotion. The limbic system, the emotional brain, is of ancient origin, but only humans have the capacity for generative imagination. By means of metaphor, we are able to interpret, displace, and transform our feelings. To bolster his argument, Modell draws on a variety of disciplines—including psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, linguistics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. Only by integrating the objectivity of neuroscience, the phenomenology of introspection, and the intersubjective knowledge of psychoanalysis, he claims, will we be able fully to understand how the mind works.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A profound rumination on the perennial problem of how to understand other minds."
— Jung-In Kwon, Journal of Consciousness Studies

"...Modell's wide-ranging survey of theory and evidence from different fields offers a valuable resource to the researcher."
— Ilona Roth, Trends in Cognitive Sciences

"Intellectual commerce at the mind-brain interface has been blossoming for a decade. Arnold Modell's important contribution to consciousness studies forges together modern and classical views of mental organization with the results of neuroscience. In it the three inseparable aspects of mental states—phenomenological, functional, and physiological—are blended together seamlessly. His positions invite us to consider a patchwork of intriguing evidence emerging from modern neuroscience in a psychologically coherent manner, and they force us to think hard about how emotional values, meaning, and imagination arise from neural dynamics."
—Jaak Panksepp, Distinguished Research Professor, Emeritus, Bowling Green State University

"The explanatory divide that separates psychiatry and neurology, to the extreme detriment of both, can only be bridged by theory, and the Freudian bridge is in disarray. Modell has created new theory, rooted in his lucid and accessible summaries and syntheses of recent works in psychoanalysis, neuropsychology, linguistics, and brain dynamics. His work will be equally valuable for clinicians, scientists, and lay readers."
—Walter J. Freeman, Division of Neurobiology, University of California at Berkeley

"Modell argues convincingly that subjective experience provides an invaluable window onto the workings of the human brain. He also demonstrates the unexpected usefulness of psychoanalytical theories and methods in tackling some knotted problems of contemporary neuroscience."
—Mark Solms, University College London

About the Author

Arnold H. Modell is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 271 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026213425X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262134255
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,724,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paradigm-shifting, thought-provoking, brilliant, July 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Imagination and the Meaningful Brain (Philosophical Psychopathology) (Hardcover)

Anyone familiar with Dr. Modell's books knows that to take on the task of reviewing one of them requires chutzpah, or at least a lot of confidence in oneself. Dr. Modell is clearly a learned man who likes a challenge. "Imagination and the Meaningful Brain" is a book that I have returned to again and again over the past few months -- it's intense, it's deep, it's provocative, it's paradigm-shifting, and it requires thoughtful reading.

Who is the intended audience for this book? Psychoanalysts? Sure. Neuroscientists? Yes. Linguists? Perhaps. Cognitive Psychologists? Most definitely. Philosophers? Indeed. In short, individuals from a variety of fields and those simply interested in the human mind. (Check out the bibliography - as a mere sampling, you've got Aquinas, Aristotle, Bollas, Castoriadis, Changeux, Coleridge, Corballis, Damasio, Darwin, Descartes, Deutch, and I'm only up to the letter "D"!)

So what's the book about? To put it simply, it's about nothing less than what it MEANS to be human. Tapping current research from various disciplines, including theory of mind research, Dr. Modell has created a new syllabus for the study of the human mind. The breadth of knowledge presented in this book is unique and refreshing.

My one complaint: I wasn't thrilled with Modell's use of Freud's libido theory in the chapter, "The Corporeal Imagination," although Modell himself does point out that this theory is antiquated. Quoting Freud, "...When a child, unwillingly enough, comes to realize that there are human creatures who do not possess a penis, that organ appears to him as something detachable from the body and becomes unmistakably analogous to the excrement..."(p. 85). Please, I can't stand it, enough already! (This is an automatic, visceral reaction on my part, which I'm sure to share with other readers!)

Incorporation of research on touch or attachment theory would have been nice.

To ignore this book is to remain stuck in prevailing paradigms that are not sufficient for understanding individuals and their idiosyncrasies! "The ulimate goal of neurobiology is to discover how the mind works." Is that an understatement or what?! "When meaning is constructed, a transformation takes place in the brain that is experienced by the mind...." And the journey begins...

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy supplements neuroscience, March 11, 2010

By 

Frederick A. Lins "life long learner" (Honolulu) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imagination and the Meaningful Brain (Philosophical Psychopathology) (Paperback)

I am a management scientist trying to understand decision making. My efforts have included readings on neural science that evidenced significant advancements in understanding the physical and biological properties of the mind. However, Modell offers an encompassing rational perspective how 'metaphor' describes the underpinnings of the mind. I found Modell's philosophical perspective to be a helpful in integrating the findings of other academics.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Imagination and a brain required to understand this book, January 6, 2007

By 

Frank M. Lachmann "Struggling Reader" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imagination and the Meaningful Brain (Philosophical Psychopathology) (Hardcover)

An excellent book but requires slow and careful reading - preferrably in a group of likeminded scholars. The ideas are compelling but it's not a page turner.