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Updated: Dec 8, 2025

Perspectives on Neuroscience
Published on: July 31, 2007
CONNECTOME or COLLECTOME? A NEUROPHILOSOPHICAL Perspective
Mehmet Emin Ceylan1, Fatma Duygu Kaya Yertutanol2,3, Aslıhan Dönmez4
1Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Uskudar University, Altunizade Mh. Haluk Turksoy Sk. No:14, 34662, Uskudar/Istanbul, Turkey.
Abstract:
Human beings exist in a biological and social system from a micro to a macro level, by means of "collectivity", a dynamic collaboration that they have established together with the elements in that system in a way to complement each other and realize a common goal. Many neuroscientific concepts used today to explain neuronal processes from which mental functions originate are far from searching answers to traditional philosophical questions. However, the brain - as the generator of highly abstract concepts - is so complex that it cannot be explained by minimalistic approaches. The concept of connectome used in recent years to describe neuronal connections from which brain functions originate exemplifies this minimalistic approach, because it only describes structural and functional connections but does not look at brain functions in a holistic view. For this reason, we propose the concept of collectome - to replace the concept of connectome - that describes a homeomorphic and homotopic neuronal framework that has a bicontinuous style of work from micro to macroscale which is based on fractal rules.
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