Response.HAVING READ Bruce H. Hinrichs' clarifying reply to our comments in the September/October 2001 Humanist on his original article, "The Science of Reading Minds," we're glad to know that his viewpoint may be closer to ours than was evident at first reading. We certainly don't underestimate the major strides neuroscience neu·ro·sci·ence n. Any of the sciences, such as neuroanatomy and neurobiology, that deal with the nervous system. neuroscience the embryology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology of the nervous system. research has made in recent years in understanding the processes underlying cognition cognition Act or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. and emotions, but we also don't underestimate the far greater distance that remains to be traveled. We believe that part of the difference between our position and Hinrichs' stems naturally from the difficulty of treating a highly technical field clearly in a nontechnical magazine--a difficulty that can often be intensified by the use of elements of sensationalism sensationalism, in philosophy, the theory that there are no innate ideas and that knowledge is derived solely from the sense data of experience. The idea was discussed by Greek philosophers and is shown variously in the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. intended to capture the reader's interest. We would support a discussion of the ethics of various hypothetical procedures, so long as it didn't entail exaggerated, anxiety-inducing estimates of the likelihood of their imminent use; but even a casual reading of Hinrichs' original article will reveal several futuristic fu·tur·is·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to the future. 2. a. Of, characterized by, or expressing a vision of the future: futuristic decor. b. "possible examples" of hair-raising invasions of privacy that we believe would turn many readers, unable to distinguish between science and science fiction in this field, against the whole idea of neuroscience research. Most nonscientists cannot fully appreciate the gulf that exists between applied technology and basic research techniques, which are often unwieldy, invasive, and prohibitively expensive, and may even endanger en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. the subject. The blunt fact is that the entire field of psychiatry continues to depend almost wholly on subjective patient report--the principal exceptions being the use of blood and body fluid chemistry to measure substance levels. We are concerned that raising unrealistic and excessive fears about brain studies could actually slow the pace of research in this most important area. All psychiatric disorders remain highly stigmatizing for many people, as bona fide [Latin, In good faith.] Honest; genuine; actual; authentic; acting without the intention of defrauding. A bona fide purchaser is one who purchases property for a valuable consideration that is inducement for entering into a contract and without suspicion of being evidence of brain abnormalities is yet to be provided in most cases. The use of innovative technologies undeniably carries great promise toward this ultimate purpose, even where any application may be far in the future. We especially want to highlight the vast difference between inferring a mental process as a result of testing under research conditions and identifying a thought with a high degree of reliability in an unwilling, uncooperative, or even unsuspecting subject. Nashaat Boutros is associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was School of Medicine. David Schafer is a recently retired physiologist who now devotes most of his time to humanist writing and lecturing. |
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