My friend, artist, and colleague Abhishekh Hazra recently made a humorous remark regarding the neurological interpretation of creative force, especially in the context of artistic expressions. This reductionist perspective has gained widespread acceptance in recent times without much critical evaluation. He humorously referred to this syndrome as "mere pass scanner hein na!" - a clever twist on the famous Hindi film dialogue "mere pass ma hein" from Amitabh Bachchan's movie.
Abhishekh stands out as one of the intellectual minds of our era who continues to approach data and information with a Marxist socio-political perspective, unlike the reductionist stance taken by neurologists from their lofty position of scientific rationality. In their view, human expressions, particularly artistic imaginations, are often regarded as neurological anomalies or phenomena. Abhishekh's satirical comment delves into our collective dissatisfaction with the lack of critical scrutiny we apply to important questions in science within our contemporary progressive society.
The notion that the creative essence of humanity can be quantified or understood in a manner akin to diagnosing an illness with the help of a graphing machine is, in fact, quite absurd on the part of scientists. It overlooks the concept of collective expression, which is fundamental to the emergence of cultural aesthetics. While individual artistic expressions are undoubtedly influenced by cognitive abilities shaped by brain functions, it is highly unreasonable, at this point in history, to argue that cognitive reductionism is the sole defining factor of artistic talent and its expressions.
Nobel prize-winning neurologist Eric R. Kandel and scientists like him contend that cognitive reductionism defines artistic ability and its expressions. However, considering the substantial gaps in our understanding of the role of neural functions in the human body, even after more than a century since neurology's inception as a scientific discipline, making such grandiose claims within this field is fraught with problems and warrants rigorous critical examination.
