Fiona Enright

Epis(s)temology (McCulloch-Pitts)

"Speaking about the ultimate goal of his research, McCullough would state years later that he sought, “a satisfactory explanation for how we know what we know, stated in terms of physics and chemistry, the anatomy of the biological system” (Johnson, George. In the Palaces of Memory: How We Build the Worlds Inside Our Heads. Alfred A. Knopf. 1991. Print.132). George Johnson expressed that McCullough, a neurologist by trade, also considered himself to be an epistemological philosopher. Although McCullough intended to research the machinations of human consciousness, his and Pitt’s neural network departed from neurological exploration and presented an altered form of brain function. Their model said more about the potential of machines and what we perceive as superior and inferior aspects of our brains than it did about the brain itself." Fiona Enright. 'Section I' The Human Element: Information, Knowledge and Art in the Digital Episteme. 2021.