Patricia S. Churchland’s Followers (191)

Patricia S. Churchland

Born

in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada

July 16, 1943

Website

http://philosophy.ucsd.edu/faculty/pschurchland...

Genre

Philosophy, Science, Nonfiction

Influences

W.V.O. Quine, Aristotle, Wilfrid Sellars, Gilbert Ryle, V.S. Ramachand ...more

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Patricia Smith Churchland (born July 16, 1943 in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian-American philosopher working at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since 1984. She is currently a professor at the UCSD Philosophy Department, an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and an associate of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (Sejnowski Lab) at the Salk Institute. She won a MacArthur prize in 1991. Educated at the University of British Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Oxford (B.Phil.). She taught philosophy at the University of Manitoba from 1969 to 1984 and is the wife of philosopher Paul Churchland.

Churchland has focused on the interface between neuroscience Patricia Smith Churchland (born July 16, 1943 in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian-American philosopher working at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since 1984. She is currently a professor at the UCSD Philosophy Department, an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and an associate of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (Sejnowski Lab) at the Salk Institute. She won a MacArthur prize in 1991. Educated at the University of British Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Oxford (B.Phil.). She taught philosophy at the University of Manitoba from 1969 to 1984 and is the wife of philosopher Paul Churchland.

Churchland has focused on the interface between neuroscience and philosophy. According to her, philosophers are increasingly realizing that to understand the mind one must understand the brain. She is associated with a school of thought called eliminativism or eliminative materialism, which argues that folk psychology concepts such as belief, free will, and consciousness will likely need to be revised as science understands more about the nature of brain function. She is also called a naturalist, because she thinks scientific research is the best basis for understanding the nature of the mind. Her recent work focuses also on neuroethics, and attempts to understand choice, responsibility and the basis of moral norms in terms of brain function, brain evolution, and brain-culture interactions.

She was interviewed along with her husband Paul Churchland for the book Conversations on Consciousness by Susan Blackmore, 2006.

She attended and was a speaker at the Beyond Belief symposium on November 2006 and November 2007.

Patricia and her husband are noted for their attempts to apply their philosophical positions in their daily life. Emotions and feelings, for instance, are eschewed in favour of more precise formulations, such as the following which describes the state of Patricia after a hectic meeting:

"Paul, don't speak to me, my serotonin levels have hit bottom, my brain is awash in glucocorticoids, my blood vessels are full of adrenaline, and if it weren't for my endogenous opiates I'd have driven the car into a tree on the way home. My dopamine levels need lifting."
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Patricia S. Churchland’s books

Average rating: 3.91 · 3,410 ratings · 327 reviews · 22 distinct works • Similar authors

	Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind/Brain 4.02 avg rating — 759 ratings — published 1986 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Touching a Nerve: Our Brains, Our Selves 3.81 avg rating — 754 ratings — published 2013 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality 3.87 avg rating — 741 ratings — published 2011 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition 3.78 avg rating — 322 ratings — published 2019 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy 4.04 avg rating — 125 ratings — published 2002 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Computational Brain by Patricia S. Churchland, Terrence J. Sejnowski 3.94 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 1992 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Philosopher's Annual: Vol. IV 1981 by Patricia S. Churchland (Contributor), S. Davies (Contributor), Peter Hylton (Contributor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1981	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy] [By: Churchland, Patricia S.] [December, 2002] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coscienza: Le origini dell'intuizione morale 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Neurophilosophy and Alzheimer's Disease 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Patricia S. Churchland…

Quotes by Patricia S. Churchland (?)

“science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.”
― Patricia S. Churchland, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality

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“My caution kicks in when I encounter either one of two sorts of dramatic theories: those that claim to have found the secret of consciousness, and those that claim that the brain mechanisms for consciousness can never be found.”
― Patricia S. Churchland, Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain

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“What I can and cannot imagine is a psychological fact about me. It is not a deep metaphysical fact about the nature of the universe.”
― Patricia S. Churchland

tags: philosophy, reason, science

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The History Book ...: * PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS - MIND/BODY/BIOLOGY/PSYCHOLOGY	49	239	Jan 03, 2015 01:11PM
Gigi's Company: Title Game	6446	1405	May 25, 2023 03:39PM

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