Confabulation: A Matter of Philosophy of the Mind?

Extract

Brain Fiction: Self-deception and the Riddle of Confabulation, by William Hirstein. (2005). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 289 pp., $35.00.

Why do some patients with brain damage construct seemingly false answers to questions, which they believe are true and accurate? Such confabulation is the topic examined in this book. Not only does Dr. Hirstein integrate the anatomical, neurological, and neuropsychological knowledge accumulated thus far on confabulation, but his training as both a neuroscientist and a philosopher provides a unique perspective on confabulation by integrating issues broadly related to the philosophy of the mind. What is also proposed in this well written book is the notion that elements of confabulation can be seen in healthy individuals and in persons with disorders less overtly neurological in nature than those with clearly documented neurological disorder.