Christfried Jakob's late views (1930-1949) on the psychogenetic function of the cerebral cortex and its localization: culmination of the neurophilosophical thought of a keen brain observer.

Summary

This article reviews the later work of neurobiologist Christfried Jakob (1866-1956), who argued that philosophy must be integrated with biology, especially neurobiology, to understand consciousness. He is considered an early figure in neurophilosophy. His ideas on brain philosophy and the emergence of consciousness shared elements with thinkers like Kant, James, and Piaget, and anticipated aspects of cybernetics and neurophenomenology. Jakob advocated interdisciplinary science as essential for solving the mystery of consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article follows the culmination of the scientific thought of the neurobiologist Christfried Jakob (1866-1956) during the later part of his career, based on publications from 1930 to 1949, when he was between 64 and 83 years of age. Jakob emphasized the necessity of bridging philosophy to the biological sciences, neurobiology in particular. Thus, we consider him as one of the early protagonists in the emergence of neurophilosophy in the 20th century. The topics that occupied his mind were the foundations for a future philosophy of the brain, and the 'neurobiogenetic', 'neurodynamic', and 'neuropsychogenetic' problems in relation to how consciousness emerges. Jakob's views have many elements in common with great thinkers of philosophy and psychology, including Immanuel Kant, William James, Edmund Husserl, Henri Bergson, Jean Piaget and Willard Quine. A common denominator can also be discerned between Jakob's dynamic approach and certain aspects of cybernetics and neurophenomenology. Jakob propounded the interdisciplinarity of sciences as an indispensable tool for ultimately solving the enigma of consciousness.