Why we are our brains: challenging enactivism

Authors

  • Roberto Sá Pereira UFRJ
  • Sérgio Farias de Souza Filho UFRPE
  • Victor Machado Barcellos UFF

Keywords:

Enactivism, Phenomenal Externalist Enactivism, Know-how

Abstract

In this essay we will argue for the following theses: 1- know-how is not a form of practical knowledge devoid of propositional sense; 2- the relationship between each perception and the body itself is metaphysically contingent. 3- it is up to the brain to configure or to shape a physical body (Körper) into a living body (Leib) and not the other way around; 4- phenomenal externalism of enactivist nature, even in its mild form, is empirically implausible: the correlation between the conscious character of sensory experience with spatiotemporal neuronal patterns is much more systematic and regular than with anything outside the brain. But in its radical form is entirely implausible and contra-intuitive: phenomenal duplicates are not necessarily duplicates of agency; in short, 5-we are our own brain that has a body, avatars, and artifacts, properly configured and molded by the brain, and not a body that has a brain among other essential organs.

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Author Biographies

Roberto Sá Pereira, UFRJ

Professor na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ – Brasil. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9117-0755.

Sérgio Farias de Souza Filho, UFRPE

Professor Adjunto A da Área de Filosofia do Departamento de Ciências Sociais da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, PE - Brasil. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1831-2515.

Victor Machado Barcellos, UFF

Possui Graduação em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, RJ – Brasil. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2269-4923

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Recebido: 12/09/2022

Aceito: 16/01/2023

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Published

2023-07-08

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Sá Pereira, R., Souza Filho, S. F. de, & Barcellos, V. M. (2023). Why we are our brains: challenging enactivism. TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista De Filosofia, 46, 517–554. Retrieved from https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/13711

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Vol. 46 (2023): Brazilian Authorial Philosophy Special Issue - Volume 1

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