The Brain and the Soul: A Critique of Materialism and an Essay on Contemporary Teachings About the Soul

Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov — an outstanding Russian philosopher and psychologist, one of the founders of domestic experimental psychology in Russia, creator of the first Psychological Institute at Moscow University. Why does popular understanding of brain science often go to extremes, and how can we distinguish real facts from philosophical simplifications? The book “The Brain and the Soul” is addressed to those who do not want to settle for ready-made formulas like “thinking is the work of neurons.” It identifies a number of fundamental problems: can the anatomy of the brain really replace psychology? Do the facts proving the dependence of the psyche on physiology assert its material nature? The author shows that science only establishes the connection of phenomena but not their causality, trying to pass off a hypothesis as a fact. However, by denying the soul as an essence, the materialist is still forced to explain the unity of consciousness and the “sense of self,” which requires the assumption of some substrate. This book is a guide to philosophical sobriety in an era of triumph for the natural sciences.