gcu: what is mind? +course hero

What is the mind body problem?

Osmundsen What is Mind? The mind-body problem is a philosophical problem that questions the relationship between physical and mental properties. The main, basic issue in regards to the mind-body problem examines whether thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and other mental properties are an extension of physical properties or if they exist completely separate of the physical world. There are five problems surrounding this question. The first problem is free will. If physical laws govern matter, and mental properties are just more physical chemical responses, then minds would simply be the product of brain chemistry and free will would be an illusion. The second problem is qualia, or what it is like to experience something. This problem asks why the brain generates an experience rather than another physical event. The third problem has to do with intentionality or how neurons can be about something and have meaning. In other words, the brain distinguishes between events and the meaning of those events. The fourth problem is unity of consciousness. This has to do with how multiple aspects of a single conscious experience are all experienced together. Finally, the fifth problem is the problem of personal identity. This problem addresses the fact that humans are constantly losing and gaining physical properties, despite staying the same person (The Mind- Body Problem, 2017). Substance dualism is the argument that physical properties and mental properties are separate substances that exist independently (Stewart, Blocker, & Petrik, 2013). According to Fundamentals of Philosophy, French philosopher,

Is the mind and body separate?

topic due to its abstract nature, however looking at different arguments surrounding substance dualism and dualism in general, it is plausible that the mind and body are two separate things, existing independently of one another. Personally, I believe that this relationship between the mind and the body cannot be entirely independent. I see the mind and the body as separate, however interacting together in this physical world in which we live. Swinburne argues that the mind and the body must be separate due to the fact that by definition and through means of introspection they are simply different things and cannot be grouped together. This can be refuted by arguing that the physical world cannot be impacted by immaterial properties or by questioning what happens when the human mind is unconscious. In the end, the dualist once again can refute these arguments, however still leaves room for more questions. It seems very circular, and since there is no means by which to come to a concrete answer, we will have to simply go on questioning and attempting to figure it out.

Can the mind be unconscious while sleeping?

In response to the first opposing argument, it could be said that while sleeping or under anesthesia certainly the mind would be unconscious, but that does not mean the mind stops existing altogether. Secondly, to refute the statement that all types of causation involving physical events would require a previous physical cause, a dualist might say that the mind can possibly have influence over how energy within a system gets distributed. In other words, mental properties could have the power to influence these events at the quantum level. Additionally, one could argue for pre-established harmony. Pre-established harmony is the idea that every physical and mental event are separate, however they are pre-established to be aligned in order to be experienced together. Another idea is that mental properties give the body small, undetectable amounts of power. Thirdly, to refute the idea that immaterial events cannot have an impact on the