2007-06-13 08:09:01 · 15 answers · asked by Future 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Ah, mind-body dualism?
Most people would draw a distinction. Your brain is physical, you mind is conceptual. The two exist in separate spheres, but not only is there obviously some relation between the them, the mind is dependent on the brain for its existence. Destroy the brain, and the mind ceases to exist (I'm not talking about a soul here). Here are some things to consider:
Does the mind have an effect on the processes of the brain (does what you are thinking about affect your physical brain?)
Is your mind inside your brain, is it nothing more than the pattern you neurons fire in, or is there more to the mind than that?
Your brain follows the laws of physics. If we were advanced enough, we could use MRIs and PET scans and computers to predict which neurons would fire in your brain, and in which sequence, given the current state of the brain and its sensory input. Your brain is physical and follows the rules of cause and effect. Most people don't want to believe they are predestined to think whatever physics says they will; they want to have control over their own mind if nothing else. If your thought processes have a degree of spontaneity, and it is not in the brain, it must be in the mind. What makes the mind different that it is capable of spontaneous thought?
2007-06-13 10:40:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. And that can be demonstrated rather easily. If I remove a brain from a corpse, does it contain a mind?
The closest relationship you can draw between a brain and a mind is like that between a computer and its software. The software doesn't really exist without a computer to run it, but it is possible to have a computer without software. In the same wise, you might say that a brain PRODUCES a mind, but it is not the mind itself.
That would not be too odd if it were the case... it would just be another emergent layer of complexity. For example, it is biology that produces your brain, and it is chemistry that makes biology work, and it is physics that makes chemistry work. But you will never find a law of physics that describes the mind directly... it's several layers of complexity removed.
There are, of course, many people who argue for an even more distantly connected mind. They place part of it in the soul, in a superconsciousness, or a variety of other places. Who knows? They may even be right. I'm withholding judgement until I receive more evidence.
2007-06-13 15:16:29 · answer #2 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do not know, all phenomena (concepts, objects) are components of mind, even the brain. The brain may or may not house the mind, but it does convey sentient activity. In other words, it acts based on a conscious mind. The reason I would venture so far as to say that perhaps the mind is not merely a component of the body is because of a philosophy known as dependent origination. The philosophy states that in the realm of duality, self and other are created in the same moment. Thus, outside phenomena play a key role in the creation entities. If these entities were completely isolated and not a part of us or connected in some way, could we truly experience them, or be aware of them? I happen to be of the opinion that everything is one and in this oneness everything is connected and there is one mind conveying all consciousness and elliciting all phenomena.
2007-06-13 16:06:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes they are. Try tinkering around with the brain and see what happens to the mind. Spend a couple of minutes wandering around a hospital ward looking at people with brain injuries. Many times, their minds are never the same again. Chemicals, electricity, hormones, whatever, it's all in the brain, I mean the mind.
2007-06-13 15:50:22 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Grudge 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The mind is part of the brain, but the brain is not the mind.
2007-06-13 15:19:13 · answer #5 · answered by spark8118 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Is your computer the same as the software you run on it? No.
The brain, like your computer, has all the hardware needed to run the very special program (an "operating system" if you like) called your mind. But your brain is not your mind, just like your Dell is not Windows Vista.
2007-06-13 15:18:59 · answer #6 · answered by libertarian_dave 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ya. Brain=Mind.
2007-06-13 15:16:50 · answer #7 · answered by peach 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You don't posses an individual mind. Your brain is a computer storing certain memories for use in satisfying needs. Mind is the collection of thought which spans beyond your short term use of it.
2007-06-13 15:18:45 · answer #8 · answered by @@@@@@@@ 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I like to think that my mind is like a screen for projecting a movie....I don't seem to control the movie that's playing all the time and the person that is sitting in the audience viewing the mind movie is me, my soul. I am waiting for science to catch up with me to prove I am wrong.
2007-06-13 15:18:54 · answer #9 · answered by MAD MOMMA 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think your "brain" is your anatomy...it is the physical object located inside your skull.
Your "mind" is your thoughts that occur inside the brain, something that is intangible and untouchable.
2007-06-13 15:16:44 · answer #10 · answered by Santana57 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋