Mind and the Brain [Paperback]

Chapter 1 is starting with a frontal assault on `scientism', blind faith in science, materialism, monism and is promising to show all this "blinded materialist" like Dan Dennet and the Churchlands and all those other Neuroscientist who are totally ignoring consciousness that there is (ought to be ?) a metaphysical basic force in nature called consciousness/mind beside time-space, gravity etc... and that Gautama Buddha was right all along... oooops - ok then bring it on Dr. Schwartz.

Chapter 2-7 are then about the history of the brain plasticity research, quite an interesting topic (for which I bought the book) a little stretched with autobiographical content whom he met when and where - and of course with frequent assaults on the ignorant scientific community who is often brushing new finding under the rug.
Quintessence : the brain is very plastic/malleable also into adulthood and this can be used to help stroke victims, OCD, amputees etc... to rewire the brain for a better life . And positive thinking, learning and focusing attention ! to repeat the mantra : focusing attention! Can change the brain wiring, and of course Gautama Buddha was right all along.

Then from chapter 8-10 the grand finale: As the mind (non material spiritual force) can change the physical brain" plus the Copenhagen definition of Quantum Physics (the conscious observer is required to define the quantum state of an elementary particle through measurement): well this is "the final nail in the coffin of materialism" as Schwartz put it.

So here it is : New age Quantum Spirituality (ala F. Capra, D. Chopra), old style Dualism e.g. mind and body separation, immaterial thoughts influence the physical world (`The secret' : pure thinking about something makes it happen) are not far off any more. The `uncaused cause' is not Thomas Aquinas God but according to Schwartz the immaterial natural basic force of consciousness/mind.

However Schwartz fails to describe exactly what those force is, how it acts on the physical brain and act/interact with the unconscious etc... So is the brain an antenna receiving signals and modulating this basic force ? or is the brain creating the immaterial consciousness itself ? or is the brain just consuming/using this force like the lungs are consuming oxygen ??? Well no answer on this Brain and Mind problem - the headline of the book.

About this Quantum Consciousness hype: Consciousness is complex and weird - QM is complex and sounds weird -> therefore one is the cause/key of the other -- all refuted since a couple of years.

The QM uncertainty and the Copenhagen interpretation was raised mainly for small particles like photons and electrons--how I understand the refutation of this QM effects on the brain from Physicists and Neurologists : those QM effects are far too small to cause any effect on huge molecules like Neurotransmitter and even the single Calcium Ions which are not significantly affected e.g. the brain is simply too wet/warm, and synapses too big to have any QM effects. And even if there would be the uncertainty principle relevant e.g. if some Calcium molecule randomly exists or not, or are in the proper place or not .... This would just explain random thoughts popping up not focused attention.

What J. Schwarz and his QM expert H. Stapp simply forget with the Copenhagen definition argument is, that MEASUREMENT is required - and this measurement is influencing the outcome because the photons or electrons shot at the probe are of a similar size like the probe to be tested (so after a location check - the next measurement the result for energy level check is spoiled or vice versa : the uncertainty principle) .

Also the experimenter who decides to test position or energy or spin etc. is NOT just sitting in her armchair and thinking about what to test "asking the right question" e.g. immaterial , but she is conducting a MEASUREMENT e.g. shooting with physical/material particles towards the probe. So for the Quantum Consciousness ala Schwatz and Stapp the brain had not just to think and focus the attention on some topic to influence the QM effects on the right molecules in the right synapse - the immaterial thought would have to MEASURE e.g. physically shoot particles onto the proper calcium ion or Neurotransmitter molecule at the right time and right place with the right energy.

So still all stays inside materialism/scientism which J. Schwartz so hates as he declares materialism and the mere questioning of the existence of free will by Neuroscience (blasphemy ?) - solely responsible for all moral evils in our society. Sorry for objecting and refuting this wishful religious/spiritual thinking with facts.... So please next try better ....

Agree very much with the review from "Proselytizing for New Age Quantum, Buddhism and Dualism"

Chapter 1 is starting with a frontal assault on `scientism', blind faith in science, materialism.....
Dr. Schwartz is essentially setting up a straw man on some of the most extreme forms of behaviourism and then attacking them. Clearly there are aspects of behaviourism which where barbaric or non scientific (eg forcing people with OCD to wipe their faces with faeces causing infections...etc) however this is hardly summarizing mainstream practice. Picking on a few crazy cases is a straw man or red herring distraction for setting the stage for the rest of the book - to make the audience of the book feel sick to create greater contrast for the later "spiritual" insights from Buddhism.

There is one straw man that I did find annoying which was the analogy of aliens coming to visit earth and find a "conscious piece of meat" "Its just meat...how can it be conscious....etc caracatures of the brain.
This is phoney ! disingenuine rhetoric.
Later in the book the "meat" is explained as a brain with 100 billions of neurons with 100 trillions of synapses, dozens of different neurotransmitters and what is easily the most complex structure in the universe (that we know of using "It"") Yes it is mysterious how it works, but there is no need for the sort of rhetoric given at the beginning of the book. This is like taking the most advanced computer and just daying its junk made from steel, silicon and lots of plastic. "The brain is meat" is a loaded linguistic metaphorical rhetorical equivocation which is misleading

Chapter 2-7 are then about the history of the brain plasticity research and neuroplasticity. Very interesting but does not commit anyone to any specific philosophical view. Yes the degree of neuroplasticity is greater now that was thought 10 years ago or 100 years ago. However even with all of the cases in this book it is hardly some mind magic - there are serious limits onto the degree of neuroplasticity. I prefer to take a middle line here - yes there is hope for stroke victims but one has to be aware of avoiding false hope that after some exercises their brain is neuroplastic, the mind force will sort everything out and all will be OK and if its not then the person was not committed to the exercises. To his credit Dr Shwarz does mention this briefly on the topic of people challenging his work blaming all psychiatric problems of people misusing their willpower. However I can sense some of the new age "secret" "law of attraction" ideas that you can get and attract whatever you want or think about.

Chapter 8-10 Consolidates the claims of the mind as a non material force and justifies this with quantum mechanics mysticism.
I agree with one of the precious reviewers that mind mystery + quantum mystery = solved mind-quantum mystery !!!
To his credit Dr Schwarz laid the burden of quantum interpretation onto physicist Henry Stapp as an authority. However H.Stapp's ideas are far from credible due to very little evidence and many theoretical problems some of which a previous reviewer posted such as quantum effects being orders of magnitude smaller than the cell and synaptic neurological level. Also why replacing determinism with random probability is any more helpful ? Dr Shwartz did briefly discuss chaos theory and implications that we may never be able to predict what the mind does, this is probably true - however does not help the theory of a separate mind force that's dualistic to the brain.

Key idea = The mind (non material spiritual force) can change the physical brain
The argument against parts of the brain that can influence other parts of the brain was not dealt with very well at all as opposed to a "mind spirit" which changes the brain. The potential for parts of the brain to influence other parts of the brain was hinted at time and time again throughout the book eg that faulty signals from the pre frontal cortex or damage to the PFC that what causes psychiatric problems involving volition. Professor Ramachandran has some fascinating lectures about rare very damage to part of the brain and the effects/various agnosias produced.

So summary - the book is advocating:

New age Quantum Spirituality (ala F. Capra, D. Chopra)- compounding mysteries with mysteries

Medieval/Cartesian Dualism mind and body separation - the perpetual energy of soul power which clearly violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics is the causal force that changes the brain

immaterial thoughts influence the physical world...`The secret' style - however maybe not as extreme as the solipsistic "we create all reality by being conscious of it"

Consciousness is an irreducible primary of the universe somewhat like time, space & fundamental forces

Quick question - what on earth was happening on the planets evolution for billions of years prior to any advanced sentient life who are "observers" of the universe ?

Dr Schwartz does fail to describe exactly what the mental force is, how it acts on the physical brain and act/interact with the unconscious etc...
The comments of a previous reviewer can be repeated ! .......???...So is the brain an antenna receiving signals and modulating this basic force ? or is the brain creating the immaterial consciousness itself ? or is the brain just consuming/using this force like the lungs are consuming oxygen ??? Well no answer on this Brain and Mind problem - the headline of the book.

Then there is the whole identity problem of who exactly are you....who is the real you ? The claim the book makes is someones intrusive thoughts and behaviour in OCD "is not their real selves" and the "mind force" thats trying to control the OCD is "the real you" - what does all this mean ???? It contradicts one of the main themes of the book regarding responsibility. According to this a person can then go to court ans say to the judge "well the real me didnt to the crime, that was just the OCD parts of the brain, but it wasnt "me" judge. I know this is not what Dr Schwartz intends ! but it is a corrolary. Surely a [ersons "Real self" includes everything, all attributes both useful, healthy and pathological.

The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of mental force, by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. and Sharon Begley, Harper Perennial, 2002, 432 ff

The power of the mind to structure the brain
By Howard Jones

This is an account of how patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder were able to be guided through treating themselves by reconditioning of the brain. Dr Schwartz is a Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and his co-author, Sharon Begley, is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. As well as describing clinical case studies, the book provides a suggested mechanism of action for mind-brain influence through quantum phenomena, as shared with the authors by quantum physicist Henry Stapp. The treatment and explanations Schwartz offers are also imbued with a fair measure of Buddhist philosophy. The calming effects on breathing, heart rate and blood pressure of meditative techniques have been known for thousands of years to eastern mystics and are used regularly in complementary therapies.

For the past two decades at least, books have been appearing to refute the idea that mind or consciousness is merely the name we give to brain function. This was the old materialist view in science that mind described brain function just as digestion describes the operation of the gut. However, there are now several books by physicians and psychiatrists that describe how patients can take conscious steps to improve their health by controlling brain and body function: books by Hamilton, Hay, Dyer, Dossey, Benson and Tart spring to mind.

Here, Schwartz describes how he teaches his OCD patients the practice of mindful awareness, which he describes as the foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The result is self-directed neuroplasticity - wilful effort or volition that can alter brain chemistry and function. The case studies given here indicate that the treatment is highly successful. But I mustn't give the impression that this book is all about OCD - that's only a part of the story. The author then goes on to give a detailed biological account, witty and wholly accessible to the non-biologist, of brain function and especially of how attitude of mind - will or volition - influences the brain. This is very reminiscent of Schopenhauer's philosophy of Will.

Incredibly, we read of preschool epilepsy patients who have surgery to remove half of the brain and not only survive but thrive! There is a discussion of brain development that highlights the well-established fact that learning a language or how to do mathematical operations is best learned as young as possible and certainly before puberty. The experiments on monkeys make for some uncomfortable reading - but the conclusions regarding brain function after stroke are highly significant. `The brain's response to messages from its environment is shaped by its experiences . . . throughout life.'

And that is the message of the book: neuroplasticity - reinforcing in biological language with theoretical explanations what the authors listed above have been telling us from practical experience. Explanations for the clinical physiology given in terms of quantum physics are excellent, the authors handling a conceptually difficult subject in accessible language. I think they make what is also a quite convincing argument. This is a very worthwhile book, but readers with little background in science will have to be prepared to be challenged, first by the section on the biology of the brain and then by the often perplexing conclusions of quantum physics.

Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK.

Heal Your Body
The Power Of Intention: Change The Way You Look At Things And The Things You Look At Will Change: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way
Healing Beyond the Body: Medicine and the Infinite Reach of the Mind
Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief
Altered States of Consciousness