PEDRO HENRIQUE SILVA ATERJE

The aim of this project is to systematically investigate the hypothesis that there is not only an epistemic but also an ontological, i.e. substantial, division between the human "body" and "mind". I will compare various philosophical propositions that have been put forward by different traditions, such as empiricism or rationalism, and trace their recent developments; examining how this philosophical question has entered contemporary sciences, especially neuroscience. Furthermore, I will reflect on how the scientific method, linked to a specific technique for studying human beings, has ended up influencing several philosophical currents, thus disturbing the perspectives for solving this question. Finally, I will problematise this relationship by reflecting on the meanings attributed to these concepts in the past, and thus try to describe more precisely how this substantial division is treated today, especially in the theory of knowledge and the philosophy of science. I will base myself on philosophical works, technical and specialist books on cognitive science and neuroscience, and on recent experiments investigating the relationship between the human brain, logic and language.