In Search of Memory Quotes

“Indeed, the underlying precept of the new science of mind is that all mental processes are biological—they all depend on organic molecules and cellular processes that occur literally “in our heads.” Therefore, any disorder or alteration of those processes must also have a biological basis.”
― Eric Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

“philosophical inquiries (the reflections of specially trained observers on the nature of their own patterns of thought) or the insights of great novelists, such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leo Tolstoy. Those are the readings that inspired my first years at Harvard. But, as I learned from Ernst Kris, neither trained introspection nor creative insights would lead to the systematic accretion of knowledge needed for the foundation of a science of mind. That sort of foundation requires more than insight, it requires experimentation. Thus, it was the remarkable successes of experimental science in astronomy, physics, and chemistry that spurred students of mind to devise experimental”
― Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

“Psychiatric illnesses were classified into two major groups—organic illnesses and functional illnesses—based on presumed differences in their origin. That classification, which dated to the nineteenth century, emerged from postmortem examinations of the brains of mental patients.”
― Eric Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

“The results of that work had shown that different patterns of stimulation alter the strength of synaptic connections in different ways. But Tauc and I had not examined how an actual behavior is changed and therefore had no evidence that learning really relies on changes in synaptic strength.”
― Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind

“[Kandel is quoting John Eccles] I learned from [Karl] Popper what for me is the essence of scientific investigation - how to be speculative and imaginative in the creation of hypotheses, and then to challenge them with the utmost rigor, both by utilizing all existing knowledge and by mounting the most searching experimental attacks. In fact I learned from him even to rejoice in the refutation of a cherished hypothesis, because that too is a scientific achievement and because much has been learned by the refutation.

Through my association with Popper I experienced a great liberation in escaping from the rigid conventions that are generally held with respect to scientific research. . . . When one is liberated from these restrictive dogmas, scientific investigation becomes an exciting adventure opening up new visions; and this attitude has, I think, been reflected in my own scientific life since that time.”
― Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind