Assignment:
Review the book: Making up the Mind-How the Brain Creates Our Mental World by Chris Frith
1. "In this book I shall show that this distinction between the mental and the physical [worlds] is false. It is an illusion created by the brain....our brain's connection with the physical world of objects is no more direct than our brain's connection with the mental world of ideas"
a. Describe one line of evidence that Frith uses to make his case that, "By hiding from us all the unconscious inferences that it makes, our brain creates the illusion that we have direct contact with objects in the physical world." Be sure to explain how your chosen example supports this idea.
b. Now describe one line of evidence that Frith uses to back up his assertion that, "at the same time our brain creates the illusion that our own mental world is isolated and private." Again be sure to explain how your chosen example supports this idea.
c. What was the main argument made by Chabris and Simon in their chapter on memory? Based on the research they present in the chapter, what theoretical perspective do they take, and how does that compare to Frith's? Explain how you decided on the theoretical approaches for each. How is Chabris and Simon's argument similar or different from that made by Frith?
d. In Frith's theory about how the brain creates our mental world, what role do other people play? Why does he make this argument?
e. Is Frith alarmed by his conclusion that the brain does not always present the world or its own functioning accurately to us? Why or why not?)
2. Frith describes a lot of evidence based on brain imaging studies and what we know about brain functioning.Pick one area in the brain and:
a. Briefly describe a study (from either Frith or the chapter by Linden) and its findings that explored a person's behaviour or mental processing and compared it with the activity or lack of activity in a particular area of the brain.
b. How does knowing about the activity (or lack of) in an area of the brain helps us understand a particular behaviour or mental process better? Use your example from (a) to help explain your rationale.