Antoni Kępiński’s Philosophy of Medicine – an alternative reading

Antoni Kępiński remains an often read and quoted author even 40 years after his premature death. Usually he is read in the context of his times and his connections with contemporary philosophy. This paper aims to show other aspects of his reflections on psychiatry. His views on the position of psychiatry within medicine, its methods, psychophysical problems, and other issues are compared with current knowledge and current thought paradigms. The goal is to show that while Kępiński was obviously functioning within a different scientific and philosophical paradigm many of his ideas and reflections can still be found within current debates. The important conclusion is to not hold on to the views that Kępiński held himself because he did not know as much as we do, but to see the importance of the debates that he foresaw even then and possibly learn something from his extensive clinical experience

Learning to Play a Musical Instrument Affects Student Behavioral Health

This thesis proposal, entitled “Learning to Play a Musical Instrument Affects Student Behavioral Health”, consists of a research paper detailing how learning to play a musical instrument has made a significant impact on the behavioral health of students, and the need for this study in today’s society. This study will provide readers with solid research and evidence for the results obtained from this musical education study in the hopes it can show that music therapy needs strengthening in these areas. Through research, clinical studies, assessments, test results, and surveys, this project will show if there are physiological benefits and psychological benefits from music education. Physiological benefits include: the control of hands, fingers, and breath control with wind instruments, as well as the mastery of the written language of musical scores and the ability to count out time values. Psychological benefits include attitude, self-esteem, confidence, and mood. This research will attempt to show how learning to play a musical instrument impacts the behavioral health and attitude of students (presumably the confidence and self-esteem one gains through mastering skills on an instrument). Since music can have an impact on a person’s mood and perspectives, this study hopes to show that learning to engage in music can even help with managing numerous behavioral health conditions, as other studies have already shown that not only does performing on a musical instrument utilize more areas of the brain than other activities, but also that students who play musical instruments do better with math and reading skills

Psychoanalysis and neurosciences: fuzzy outlines? Notes on the notion of cerebral plasticity

“Psychoanalysis versus psychiatry” and “unconscious versus brain” are classic oppositions between different perspectives on the human being and mental suffering. This article draws on certain elements of this discussion and reflects on how new ideas about the brain and biology favor closer interaction between psychoanalysis and the neurosciences. These questions are redefined through the notion of cerebral plasticity, by which the brain is open to interaction with the social environment and the influence of psychoanalytical therapy. Conceiving of the brain as a plastic organ allows for the possibility of interchange between psychoanalysis and the neurosciences.Fil: Mantilla, Maria Jimena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Stimulating the Brain : Ethical Perspectives on Deep Brain Stimulation & Nano Scaled Brain Machine Interfaces

This thesis addresses some of the ethical concerns raised by connecting man and machine through so called Brain-Machine Interfaces, BMIs, elaborate brain implants that may both further our knowledge of the brain and alleviate neurological dysfunction and impairments. The primary foci have been to address urgent and prominent concerns elicited by BMIs; to critically evaluate arguments relevant to an ethical analysis of Deep Brain Stimulation, DBS; and to address and develop ignored or underrepresented perspectives of importance in an ethical analysis of DBS. The main method used in the analysis is ‘embedded ethics’. This method was developed during the doctoral project, to answer the specific research questions examined in paper I-IV, and builds on methodology such as empirical ethics and casuistry. The purpose of ‘embedded ethics’ is not to derive final conclusions or action guidance regarding a technology as such, but to identify, critically assess and problematize central ethical concerns elicited by new and emerging technologies, and to detect and address the lacunas in the current debate. Some key contributions of this thesis to the fields of nanoethics, neuroethics and bioethics are: to introduce the distinction between inherent and noninherent ethical concerns to elaborate on upcoming and future ethical concerns elicited by DBS; to identify biases, for instance as regards technology, time, speculative scenarios, and authenticity, that may distort an ethical analysis of DBS; to argue for the duty of ethicists analysing bioethical concerns to acknowledge the necessity of acquiring sufficient knowledge of the scientific/biological subject matter of analysis, knowledge either achievable by being an ‘embedded ethicist’ or through a firm dedication to understanding the particulars and contextual impact factors specific to the subject of analysis

Emergence of qualia from brain activity or from an interaction of proto-consciousness with the brain: which one is the weirder? Available evidence and a research agenda

This contribution to the science of consciousness aims at comparing how two different theories can explain the emergence of different qualia experiences, meta-awareness, meta-cognition, the placebo effect, out-of-body experiences, cognitive therapy and meditation-induced brain changes, etc. The first theory postulates that qualia experiences derive from specific neural patterns, the second one, that qualia experiences derive from the interaction of a proto-consciousness with the brain\u2019s neural activity. From this comparison it will be possible to judge which one seems to better explain the different qualia experiences and to offer a more promising research agenda

Biological Interventions for Crime Prevention

This chapter sets the scene for the subsequent philosophical discussions by surveying a number of biological interventions that have been used, or might in the future be used, for the purposes of crime prevention. These interventions are pharmaceutical interventions intended to suppress libido, treat substance abuse or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or modulate serotonin activity; nutritional interventions; and electrical and magnetic brain stimulation. Where applicable, we briefly comment on the historical use of these interventions, and in each case we discuss the evidence that they are effective, or might become so with further refinement. The chapter concludes with a comment on some potentially significant differences between the varieties of intervention that we canvass