6. The terminology was never entirely clear, but it frequently differentiated between an unconscious «body schema» and a conscious «body image.» The body schema (a notion introduced in 1911 by Sir Henry Head and Gordon Holmes, two British neurologists) would be a functional entity, providing an organized model of the bodily self in the brain, whereas the body image would also include our conscious perceptions of our own body as well as thoughts about and attitudes toward it. For a philosophical perspective on the conceptual confusion surrounding both notions, see Shaun Gallagher,
7. A. Maravita & A. Iriki, «Tools for the Body (Schema),»
8. See A. Iriki et al., «Coding of Modified Body Schema During Tool-Use by Macaque Post-Central Neurons,»
9. J. M. Carmena et al., «Learning to Control a Brain-Machine Interface for Reaching and Grasping by Primates,»
10. Here is how Iriki and Sakura put this important point: «If external objects can be reconceived as belonging to the body, it may be inevitable that the converse reconceptualization, i.e., the subject can now objectify its body parts as equivalent to external tools, becomes likewise apparent. Thus, tool use may lead to the ability to
11. See O. Blanke & T. Metzinger, «Full-Body Illusions and Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood,»
12. See T. Metzinger, «Out-of-Body Experiences as the Origin of the Concept of a 'Soul,'»
13. E. R. S. Mead,
14. It is important to be clear about the potential ontological conclusions: Even if a fully reductive explanation of all subtypes of OBEs should be achieved-and even if my hypothesis about the history of the concept of a soul is correct-it still remains logically possible that souls do exist. True, we would no longer need the concept of a soul for the purposes of science or philosophy; it would no longer figure in any rational, data-driven theory about the human mind. Logical possibility is something very weak, but it is hard to prove the nonexistence of something, and it always remains possible that one day we will discover a new sense in which the soul is not an empty concept at all.
15. It is interesting to note how the earliest historical meaning of the word «information» in English was the
16. Susan J. Blackmore,
17. In addition to
18. E. Waelti,
19. C. S. Alvarado, «Out-of-Body Experiences,» in E. Cardena et al., eds.,
20. See, for example, J. Palmer, «A Community Mail Survey of Psychic Experience,»