A Tale of Two Perspectives: How Psychology and Neuroscience Contribute to Understanding Personhood

Abstract

Empirical science, such as psychology and neuroscience, employ diverse methods to develop data driven models and explanations for complex phenomena. In research on the self, differences in these methods produce different depictions of persons. Research in developmental psychology highlights the role of intuitive beliefs, such as psychological essentialism and intuitive dualism, in individuals’ singular, cohesive, and stable sense of self. On the other hand, research in neuroscience highlights the de-centralized, distributed, multitudes of neural networks in competition making selves, with arguments around whether the interpretation of these data imply that the self is somehow fundamental and special to human functioning. In this paper, I explore these discrepant pictures of the self to advance understanding about personhood. Specifically, I suggest that these divergent pictures of self from psychology and neuroscience have the potential to inform philosophical and theological discussions around personhood by anchoring models of persons in empirical views of persons. Likewise, I explore the opportunity for philosophy and theology to inform and enhance scientific research on the self by critiquing scientific bias and construct development as well as highlighting potential limits in understanding selves with empirical models.

COVID-19-Associated Mental Health Impact on Menstrual Function Aspects: Dysmenorrhea and Premenstrual Syndrome, and Genitourinary Tract Health: A Cross Sectional Study among Jordanian Medical Students

“…Furthermore, the religious and spiritual background of the studied population could have also resulted in these inconsistent findings, as multiple studies have shown the helpful role of spiritual and religious capital in coping with and protecting against COVID-19 psychological and mental stress [51,52]. Personality traits also play an important role in COVID-19-related changes and impacts where agreeable, extraverted, and conscientious persons had few COVID-19 related impacts compared to neurotic persons, who could be easily harmed [53][54][55].…”

The Person at the Core of Psychological Science

“…Relative to the neurosciences, psychology is much better placed as a scientific counterpart in a comprehensive study of the human person (Smith 2021). First, psychology deals with thoughts, beliefs and behavior without further justification; that is just its field.…”