Self, World and Space: The Meaning and Mechanisms of Ego- and Allocentric Spatial Representation
Author: Grush R.1
Source: Brain and Mind, Volume 1, Number 1, April 2000 , pp. 59-92(34)
Publisher: Springer
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Abstract:
The problem of how physical systems, such as brains, come to represent themselves as subjects in an objective world is addressed. I develop an account of the requirements for this ability that draws on and refines work in a philosophical tradition that runs from Kant through Peter Strawson to Gareth Evans. The basic idea is that the ability to represent oneself as a subject in a world whose existence is independent of oneself involves the ability to represent space, and in particular, to represent oneself as one object among others in an objective spatial realm. In parallel, I provide an account of how this ability, and the mechanisms that support it, are realized neurobiologically. This aspect of the article draws on, and refines, work done in the neurobiology and psychology of egocentric and allocentric spatial representation.
Keywords: objectivity; spatial representation; Kant; cognitive maps; posterior parietal cortex
Language: English
Document Type: Regular paper
Affiliations: 1: Department of Philosophy, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. e-mail:grush+@pitt.edu
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