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. 2014 Fall;13(38):7-12.
doi: 10.1017/S1477175614000128.

Neuroreductionism about Sex and Love

Julian Savulescu  1 , Brian D Earp  1
Affiliations

Neuroreductionism about Sex and Love

Julian Savulescu et al. Think (Lond). 2014 Fall.

Abstract

"Neuroreductionism" is the tendency to reduce complex mental phenomena to brain states, confusing correlation for physical causation. In this paper, we illustrate the dangers of this popular neuro-fallacy, by looking at an example drawn from the media: a story about "hypoactive sexual desire disorder" in women. We discuss the role of folk dualism in perpetuating such a confusion, and draw some conclusions about the role of "brain scans" in our understanding of romantic love.

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    1. It’s also worth noting, as Neil Levy pointed out to us (personal correspondence) that “many non-reductive physicalists, while certainly agreeing with this claim, also assert a stronger claim: something like ‘though mental states are completely caused by physical states they are not identical to physical states.’ So it’s not just pragmatics – what kind of explanation allows for better understanding of what matters to us – but metaphysics that is at issue” for these kinds of physicalist thinkers.

    1. See story at http://bbc.in/a4CHXf.

    1. Now, Dr. Diamond’s evidence might show that the women are not “faking” their low libido, which could be one sense in which you could argue that they had a “real disorder.” But it is silent on etiology—the question of cause—and it depends very much on one’s definition of “disorder.” For example, it might be a real disorder that is also a “societal construct.” That is, some self-conceptions are shaped by notions that are available in a given culture (but not others), and these conceptions can influence one’s functioning in ways that are detrimental to their well-being in that context. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders from the American Psychiatric Association, for example, recognizes a number of “culture-bound” disorders.

    1. See story at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2943-brain-tumour-causes-uncontrol....
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