Re: Mirror neurons at autopsy (Was: [TCS] What is empathy)

On Dec 16, 2012, at 2:14 PM, David Deutsch <david.deutsch-LR/[email protected]> wrote:

> On 16 Dec 2012, at 21:50, Elliot Temple <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> On Dec 16, 2012, at 5:58 AM, Alan Forrester <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
> 
>>> Specifically, there is no explanation of any respect in which mirror neurons differ from other neurons that explains why they go off in both cases. They don't have different kinds of axons or whatever.
>> 
>> Right. This is why I have asked about mirror neurons at autopsy. And DD has not answered, nor has any other mirror neuron believer been able to answer the issue.
> 
> I have no idea whether mirror neurons are physiologically different from other neurons. I see no reason why they should be, and if they are, that can't possibly make them have empathy or anything else. It's programs that have empathy, not hardware, and all universal hardware is equally capable of it (barring marginal issues of speed and memory capacity, which can't be relevant to the issue of what empathy is).

if it's not physiologically different, why call it a type of neuron?

> 
> What does a "mirror neuron believer" believe?


A mirror neuron believer disagrees with what Alan explained in his last post in the empathy thread. e.g. by believing they are a reasonable, useful idea instead of bad philosophy and explanationless science.

-- Elliot Temple
http://elliottemple.com/