MATT’S PHOTOGRAPHY
2008
Very early in philosophy, going back at least to Plato, it has been controversial how to characterize the relationship between the mind and the body. Does the mind control the body or the body control the mind? Is the mind nothing more than the body? Might the body itself be a product of the mind? This is the so-called ‘mind-body’ problem. Nowadays it is discussed more specifically: What is the relationship between the mind (one’s thoughts, memories, perceptions) and the brain (the actual bunch of neurons in your head)? This problem still persists today, and may be the deepest philosophical question facing Cognitive Science.
Here is an article that will stimulate your thinking on these issues. Here’s an assignment to provide further incentive.
The mind-body problem: Dualism vs. Monism
1/18/07
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Dualism
Dualism argues that that the mind and body are of two different types; the brain is a physical substance and the mind is something else, some ‘mental’ substance. Different varieties of Dualism arise from how and if you think the mind and brain interact.
Classical dualism - proposed by Descartes (1596-1650). The mind
controls the body through the pineal gland.
Parallelism - Mind and body are isolated from each other and exist in
parallel worlds. An unknown force synchronizes the two.
Epiphenomenalism - The brain causes the mind. But the mind
cannot influence the brain. The mind exists, but is ineffectual.
Interactionism - The mind and body can affect one another.
Monism
Monism argues that the mind and body are made out of the same stuff. Since physical stuff and mental stuff are the two popular types of stuff people like to think about, monism splits into two camps:
Idealism/Solipsism - The mind and body both exist in a mental realm.
There is no physical world. Solipsism goes one step further to claim
that the universe - everything, in other words - exists in one’s mind.
Materialism - Mind and body are both physical. There is no
non-physical, mental world.
So... which are you?
Dualism’s biggest challenges are the fact that it proposes a realm that cannot be studied scientifically, and further that the connection between the physical and the mental cannot be defined. Physicalism’s biggest challenge, on the other hand, is explaining ‘qualia’, one’s introspective experiences, which seem unable to be described or captured by physical descriptions. Just ask Mary the color-blind neuroscientist.
