Table Of ContentPROGRESS IN THE
NEUROSCIENCES
AND RELATED FIELDS
Studies in the Natural Sciences
A Series from the Center for Theoretical Studies
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
Volume 1 - IMPACT OF BASIC RESEARCH ON TECHNOLOGY
Edited by Behram Kursunoglu and Arnold Perlmutter • 1973
Volume 2 - FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS IN PHYSICS
Edited by Behram Kursunoglu, Arnold Perlmutter,
Steven M. Brown, Mou-Shan Chen, T. P'atrick Coleman,
Werner Eissner, Joseph Hubbard, Chun-Chian Lu,
Stephan L. Mintz, and Mario Rasetti • 1973
Volume 3 - FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS IN PHYSICS AND ASTROPHYSICS
Edited by Behram Kursunoglu, Steven Weinberg, Arthur S. Wightman,
Geoffrey Iverson, Arnold Perlmutter, and Stephan L. Mintz • 1973
Volume 4 - QUANTUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES
Edited by Behram Kursunoglu, Stephan L. Mintz, Susan M. Widmayer,
Mou-Shan Chen, C. S. Hui, Joseph Hubbard, Joseph F. Malerba,
Laurence Mittag, and George Soukup • 1974
VolumeS - FUNDAMENTAL THEORIES IN PHYSICS
Edited by Stephan L. Mintz, Laurence Mittag, Susan M. Widmayer,
Chui-Shuen Hui, and Joseph F. Malerba. 1974
Volume 6 - PROGRESS IN THE NEUROSCIENCES AND RELATED FIELDS
Edited by Behram Kursunoglu, Stephan L. Mintz, Susan M. Widmayer,
Chui-Shuen Hui, Joseph Hubbard, and Joseph F. Malerba • 1974
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring
delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon
actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher.
ORBIS SCIENTIAE
PROGRESS IN THE
NEUROSCIENCES
AND RELATED FIELDS
Chairman
Behram Kursunoglu
Editors
Stephan L. Mintz
Susan M. Widmayer
Scientific Secretaries
Chui-Shuen Hui
Joseph Hubbard
Joseph F. Malerba
Center for Theoretical Studies
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida
PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Orbis Scientiae, University of Miami, 1974.
Progress in the neurosciences and related fields.
(Studies in the natural sciences, v. 6)
"Proceedings of Orbis Scientiae held by the Center for Theoretical Studies, Uni
versity of Miami, January 7-11, 1974."
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Neurophysiology-Congresses. I. Kur§unouglu, Behram, 1922- II. Mintz,
Stephan, ed. III. Widmayer, Susan M., ed. IV. Miami, University of, Coral Gables, Fla.
Center for Theoretical Studies. V. Title. VI. Series. [DNLM: 1. Biochemistry
Congresses. 2. Biophysics-Congresses. 3. Neurophysiology-Congresses. W30R49
1974p / WL 102064 1974p)
QP351.07 1974 612'.82 74-10822
ISBN 978-1-4684-2918-3 ISBN 978-1-4684-2916-9 (eBook)
001 10.1007/978-1-4684-2916-9
Part of the Proceedings of Orbis Scientlae
held by the Center for Theoretical Studies,
University of Miami, January 7-11, 1974
© 1974 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1974
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
United Kingdom edition published by Plenum Press, London
A Division of Plenum Publishing Company, Ltd.
4a Lower John Street, London, W1 R 3PD, England
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
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Preface
This volume contains the papers presented
during the Neurophysiology Session of the first
Orbis Scientiae of the Center for Theoretical
Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables,
Florida. With this first Orbis which met from
January 7 - 11, 1974, the Center for Theoretical
Studies has inaugerated a new set of annual
gatherings devoted to the natural sciences and to
problems on the "interface" of science and
society.
The content of the talks presented ranged
over a wide variety of topics in neurophysiology,
biophysics and biochemistry. A number of the talks
concerned various aspects of the brain and its
functions. Recent results were also presented on
the physics and chemistry of membranes. The papers
in the volume are presented in the order in which
they were originally delivered.
Special thanks are due to Mrs. Helga Billings,
Miss Sara Lesser and Mrs. Jacquelyn Zagursky for
the typing of the manuscript and for their
efficient and cheerful attention to the details
of the conference.
THE EDITORS
Contents
The Physiology and Physics of the
Free Will Problem
John Eccles............................ 1
Is the Brain a Chemical Computer?
Georges Ungar......................... 41
Evidence for Phase-Transition in
Nerve Membrane
Ichij i Tasaki.......................... 59
Languages, Hierarchical Structures,
and Logic
Eduardo R. Caianiello................. 67
List of Participants....................... 87
Subject Index.............................. 91
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THE PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYSICS OF THE FREE WILL
PROBLEM
J. C. Eccles
Laboratory of Neurobiology
State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, New York 14226
THE THREE WORLD HYPOTHESIS OF POPPER
I will begin by brief reference to the philo
sophical basis of my discussion. I refer to the
trialist philosophy that has been developed by
Sir Karl Popper (1972) in his recent book "Ob
jective Knowledge." As illustrated in Fig. 1,
everything in existence and in experience is sub
sumed in one or other of three worlds: World 1,
the world of physical objects and states; World 2,
the world of states of consciousness and sub
jective knowledge of all kinds; World 3, the world
of man-made culture, comprising the whole of ob
jective knowledge. Furthermore it is postulated
that there is interaction between these worlds.
There is reciprocal interaction between Worlds 1
and 2, and between Worlds 2 and 3 via the media-
tion of World 1. The objective knowledge of
'" '-o :x Z m n n ..... m c.n
E e
S hr
WORLD 3 OWLEDGE IN OBJECTIVE SEN Cultural heritage coded on material substrates philosophical theological scientific historical literary artistic technological Theoretical systems scientific problems critical arguments ted components in tulated list of thei
N ab
K ula
t
t
~ sa
o
S s ph
WORLD 2 ES OF CONSCIOUSNES bjective knowledge perience of perception thinking emotions dispositional intention memories dreams creative imagination ess. The three ess together wit
T u x nn
A S E
T ss
S uu
oo
~ ii
cc
ss
nn
WORLD 1 HYSICAL OBJECTS AND STATES 1. INORGANIC Matter and energy of cosmos 2. BIOLOGY Structure and actions of all living beings -human brains 3. ARTEFACTS Material substrates of human creativity of tools of machines of books of works of art of music igure 1 World of coworld of cocomponents.
P F
THE PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYSICS OF THE FREE WILL PROBLEM
3
World 3 (the man-made world of culture) is encoded
on various objects of World 1 -- books, pictures,
structures, machines -- and can be perceived only
when projected to the brain by the appropriate
receptor organs and afferent pathways. Recipro-
cally the World 2 of conscious experience can
bring about changes in World 1, in the first place
in the brain, then in muscular contractions, by
World 2 acting on World 1. This is the postulated
operation of free will that is the subject of this
lecture. We may diagram the postulated inter-
actions of this trialist interactionist hypothesis
as: World 1 t World 2 and World 3 t World 1 t
World 2, where World 2 + World 1 contains the free
will problem.
Fig. 2 defines the free will problem more
succinctly in terms of the three major components
that are generally recognized for World 2 (cf.
Folten, 1973). There is firstly the outer sense
which relates specifically to the perceptions
given immediately by the inputs of the sense or
gans, visual, auditory, tactile, smell, taste,
pain, etc. Secondly, there is inner sense which
comprises a wide variety of cognitive experiences:
thoughts, memories, intentions, imaginings, emo-
tions, feelings, dreams. Thirdly, and at the
core of World 2, there is the self or pure ego
that is the basis of the personal continuity that
each of us "experiences throughout our life time,
spanning for example the diurnal gaps of con-
sciousness in sleep. Each day consciousness
