Abstract

SOUSA, Carlos Eduardo Batista de. The tricks and traps of Eagleman's book Incognito: a critical review. Educação e Filosofia [online]. 2016, vol.30, n.59, pp.467-478. ISSN 1982-596x.  https://doi.org/10.14393/REVEDFIL.issn.0102-6801.v30n59a2016-p467a478.

Incognito: The secret lives of the brain, is a science book about neurosciences written by the neuroscientist David Eagleman. The author explains in a simple way neuroscientifc findings concerning the relationship between conscious behavior and the brain. Eagleman writes his message in fresh and clear prose: the brain makes things that we are not aware of and it is responsible for the conscious behavior. However, there are several claims seemingly uncomplicated that conceal deep philosophical problems. The author ignores problematic issues about the experiments and takes them for granted. The neuroscientifc enterprise presents several flaws pointed out by many authors. Furthermore, the arguments about the human agency based on few and problematic experimentation is controversial and highly disputable. This review assesses various critical points and it addresses some questions that should be taken into account by the neurosciences.

Keywords : Neuroscience; Philosophy of Science; Causation; Scientific Explanation.

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