Illuminating the Neuroscience of Decision-making Through the Dark Night of John of the Cross
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/SetF.2023.026Keywords
conversion, illumination, purgative path, science of love, unlearning, virtuesAbstract
In this publication, we will use the principal concepts of John of the Cross, the famous mystic of the XVIth century, as a framework to go over, in a non-reductionist way, three challenges in contemporary neuroscience of decision-making. Firstly, the dark night and the purgative paths will be related to discontinuity in decision-making. Secondly, the passive and active paths will be associated to brain plasticity, architecture, and levels of decision. Thirdly, the illumination, which can be felt when a solution is reached, has to do with positive emotions and can be inspired by the science of love of John of the Cross. We shall lastly conclude by emphasizing the usefulness of his work to illuminate the neuroscience of decision-making.
References
Bartels, Andreas, and Zeki, Semir. 2000. “The neural basis of romantic love.” Neuroreport 11: 3829–3834.
Bastos-Filho, Teodiano F., Cheein, Fernando A., Müller, Sandra M., Celeste, Wanderley C., de la Cruz, Celso, Cavalieri, Daniel C., Sarcinelli-Filho, Mario, Amaral, Paulo F., Perez, Elisa, Soria, Carlos M., and Carelli, Ricardo. 2014. “Towards a new modality-independent interface for a robotic wheelchair.” IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering 22: 567–84.
Beauregard, Mario, Courtemanche, Jérôme, Paquette, Vincent, and St-Pierre Evelyne L. 2009. “The neural basis of unconditional love.” Psychiatry Research 172: 93–88.
Beauregard, Mario, and Paquette, Vincent. 2006. “Neural correlates of a mystical experience in Carmelite nuns.” Neuroscience Letters 405: 186–190.
Buckner, Randy L., and DiNicola, Lauren M. 2019. “The brain's default network: updated anatomy, physiology and evolving insights.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 20: 593–608.
Changeux, Jean-Pierre, and Connes, Alain. 1992. Matière à pensée. Paris: Odile Jacob. English translation: 1995. Conversations on Mind, Matter, and Mathematics. Princeton: Edited and translated by M.B. DeBevoise.
Freeman, Walter J. 1999. How brains make up their minds. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Glimcher, Paul W. 2003. Decisions, uncertainty, and the brain. The science of neuroeconomics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: A Bradford Book, The MIT Press.
Grothendieck, Alexander. 1987. La clef des songes ou dialogue avec le bon Dieu. Université Paris 6: Grothendieck Circle. https://www.quarante-deux.org.
Hasselmo, Michael E., and Giocomo, Lisa M. 2006. “Cholinergic modulation of cortical function.” Journal Molecular Neuroscience 30: 133–135.
Hilgard, Ernest R. 1980, “The trilogy of mind: cognition, affection, and conation.” Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 16: 107–117.
Jacob, François. 1989. The statue within. New York: Basic Books.
John of the Cross. 1995. Le cantique spirituel. Paris: Seuil. English translation: Spiritual Canticle of the Soul (ecatholic2000.com).
John of the Cross. 1972. La montée du Carmel. Paris: Seuil. English translation: Ascent of Mount Carmel (third revised Edition) (ecatholic2000.com).
John of the Cross. 1984. La nuit obscure. Paris: Seuil. English translation: Dark Night of the Soul (third revised Edition) (ecatholic2000.com).
Kozma, Robert. 2016. “Reflections on a giant of brain science. How lucky we are having Walter J. Freeman as our beacon in cognitive neurodynamics research.” Cognitive Neurodynamics 10: 457–469.
Kringelbach, Morten L., and Berridge, Kent C. 2009. “Towards a functional neuroanatomy of pleasure and happiness.” Trends Cognitive Sciences 13: 479–487.
Lacaux, Célia, Andrillon, Thomas, Bastoul, Céleste, Idir, Yannis, Fonteix-Galet, Alexandrine, Arnulf, Isabelle, and Oudiette, Delphine. 2021. “Sleep onset is a creative sweet spot.” Science Advances 7(50):eabj5866. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abj5866.
Lapierre, Jean-Pie. 1984. Introduction to The Dark Night of the Soul, by John of the Cross. Paris: Seuil.
Maritain, Jacques. 1963. Distinguer pour unir ou Les degrés du savoir. Paris: L’Ordinaire, Desclée de Brouwer.
McClure, Samuel M., Laibson, David I., Loewenstein, George, and Cohen, Jonathan D. 2004. “Separate neural systems value immediate and delayed monetary rewards.” Science 306: 503–507.
McEwen, Bruce S. 2012. “Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin.” Proceedings National Academy of Sciences, USA 109: 17180–17185.
Pagani, Mario R., and Merlo, Emiliano. 2019. “Kinase and phosphatase engagement is dissociated between memory formation and extinction.” Frontiers Molecular Neuroscience 12:38. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00038. eCollection 2019.
Peters, Achim, McEwen, Bruce S., and Friston, Karl. 2017. “Uncertainty and stress: Why it causes diseases and how it is mastered by the brain.” Progress in Neurobiology 156: 164–188.
Sakaki, Michiko, Yoo, Hyun J., Nga, Lin, Lee, Tae-Ho, Thayer, Julian F., and Mather, Mara. 2016. “Heart rate variability is associated with amygdala functional connectivity with MPFC across younger and older adults.” Neuroimage 139: 44–52.
Savioz, Armand. 2021. “Paradigm shifts in neuroscience linked to decision-making: back to the future with Thomas Aquinas.” Mind and Matter 19: 209–227.
Savioz, Armand, Leuba, Geneviève, Vallet, Philippe G., and Walzer, Claude. 2009. “Contribution of neural network to Alzheimer disease’s progression.” Brain Research Bulletin 80: 309–314.
Schmitt, Éric-Emmanuel. 2015. La nuit de feu. Paris: Albin Michel.
Smith, Kerri. 2018. “Sex and drugs and self-control: how the teen brain navigates risk.” Nature 554: 426–428.
Thayer, Julian F., Mather, Mara, and Koenig, Julian. 2021. “Stress and aging: A neurovisceral integration perspective.” Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13804.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Armand Savioz, Stephen Perrig
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
CC BY ND 4.0. The Creator/Contributor is the Licensor, who grants the Licensee a non-exclusive license to use the Work on the fields indicated in the License Agreement.
- The Licensor grants the Licensee a non-exclusive license to use the Work/related rights item specified in § 1 within the following fields: a) recording of Work/related rights item; b) reproduction (multiplication) of Work/related rights item in print and digital technology (e-book, audiobook); c) placing the copies of the multiplied Work/related rights item on the market; d) entering the Work/related rights item to computer memory; e) distribution of the work in electronic version in the open access form on the basis of Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 3.0) via the digital platform of the Nicolaus Copernicus University Press and file repository of the Nicolaus Copernicus University.
- Usage of the recorded Work by the Licensee within the above fields is not restricted by time, numbers or territory.
- The Licensor grants the license for the Work/related rights item to the Licensee free of charge and for an unspecified period of time.
FULL TEXT License Agreement
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 983
Number of citations: 0
