Brains in scanners: An Umwelt of cognitive neuroscience

Abstract

The last decades of the twentieth century have witnessed an amazing development in the methodologies and technologies available for the study of brain activity and functionality. Partly in parallel and partly intertwined with technological development, the relationship between the mind and the brain has again appeared on the philosophical and psychological agenda. In the newly (e)merging fields of mind-brain studies and cognitive neuroscience, examinations of the role and status of the subject are becoming relevant. To some extent current discussions mirror those taking place at the beginning of the century. The Baltic German biologist Jakob von Uexkull was one of the prominent participants in this earlier debate. This article uses Uexkull's notions of Umwelt and Umgebung to conceptualize phenomenological aspects of ethnographicmaterial collectedduring recentfield workin abrain imaging community. Although Uexkull's cosmology may be outdated, his proto- semiotic theory too facile, and his notion of Umwelt more applicable for lower animals than for humans, some of his phenomenological considerations appear very important for the contemporary debate of the mind-brain relationship. The analysis of the complicated interac- tion between experimenter, experimental subject, and brain-scanner suggests, however, that when studying a symbolic species like humans, the Umwelt-Umgebung distinction does not suAce to grasp the total situa- tion. This dichotomy, in the contemporary discussion often expressed as the diAerence between a 'first person' and a 'third person' perspective, needstobesupplementedwithacommunicative secondperson perspective that connects and mediates between the two. The physical setting: Imagining brain activity Imagine yourself in a semi-dark room. Behind your back is a large window that opens up to another room. If you turn around, you can