4 ms·
Is this really a common position? Are there prominent neuroscientists or physicians who insist that mental activity is incapable of enormous influence on the bo
by titanomachy 5y ago
Is this really a common position? Are there prominent neuroscientists or physicians who insist that mental activity is incapable of enormous influence on the body?
I've heard doctors say things like "she lost the will to live after her husband died". And most actual life scientists I know have a healthy regard for the limits of our knowledge.
Some of my fellow software engineers, on the other hand...
- forgotmypw17 5y ago> Is this really a common position? Are there prominent neuroscientists or physicians who insist that mental activity is incapable of enormous influence on the body? Individual doctors may say it, but as an industry, it is largely ignored. They'll say it, but they'll rarely act on it in any meaningful way.
- beepbooptheory 5y agoThe larger conceit is simply that we are intuitively all kind of Cartesian, despite ourselves. It is structurally difficult not to be. I think its reasonable for even scientists in this field to not fully escape its psychological and cultural grasp.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- pbhjpbhj 5y agoIt feels like it's recognised (or assumed) in UK medical care, that contact with kin/friends leads to better care/health outcomes.
- yccs27 5y agoMental effects are unfortunately pretty hard to measure reliably or even control, so people trying to do "cold hard science" tend to disregard it. It is easy to write off claims as unscientific if they are hard to replicate in lab conditions, but it does not mean they are necessarily false.
- jcims 5y agoYes, it even has a name. Placebo effect.