In the bad old days, behaviorists prohibited any mention of internal
processes in the brain, because they were unobservable. But brain scans,
especially fMRI, provide direct evidence of the correlations between
observable behavior and neural processes. (01)
The new methods have revolutionized cognitive science. They make it
respectable to define ontologies and scientific theories that refer
to previously unobservable processes. (02)
Gregory Berns, who has a PhD and an MD, has published research articles
on neuroscience and popular articles about their implications. He is
also a dog owner. With the help of a professional dog trainer, Berns
trained his own dog Callie and a few others to feel comfortable in
an MRI scanner. The dogs climb into it willingly. (03)
Then the researchers perform fMRI scans on the dogs while they are
conscious. Researches can then detect and analyze correlations
among the stimuli, responses, and neural processes of the dogs. (04)
Berns published a popular article, "Dogs are people, too": (05)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html (06)
The question whether dogs are people is debatable. But the implications
for cognitive science are clear: neural processes in humans and other
animals are observable. That makes it legitimate to use existential
quantifiers to refer to neural processes and to their implications
and correlations with all forms of behavior -- including language. (07)
That kind of evidence is important for ontologies about intentions,
emotions, and other social and psychological issues. (08)
John (09)
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