Mind-Body Problem: Philosophy and Neuroscience
The Mind-Body Problem: Philosophy and Neuroscience
1.1 Mind, Brain, and Consciousness
Studies in philosophy, biology, and medicine consider humans as a material part of nature. As living organisms, we develop functions that allow us to survive independently: to live, feel, and know through the body. The body is an indispensable tool for us to live.
The Mind: The mind encompasses the set of intelligence activities and human capacity, processing information from the outside world and conducting vital functions. Currently, any discussion of the mind must consider the brain.
The Brain: The brain is an incredibly complex organ that exercises intellectual, aspective, and motor functions. Neuroscience has made much progress since Santiago Ramón y Cajal first studied brain cells, their connections, and the operation of the brain. The amazing research of the brain is the subject of neuroscience, which examines how the brain performs reasoning processes. The results are amazing, but the ambitious task of learning how the mind works is far from being solved.
1.2 Philosophical Perspectives on Mind and Body
This problem is at the center of the philosophy of mind, a recent discipline that takes into account the advances of neuroscience. There are several main philosophical viewpoints:
- Monism: Mind and body are not two separate realities, but different aspects of a single reality.
- Material Monism (e.g., the atomists of Greece, Marx): Everything is ultimately physical.
- Spiritual/Idealist Monism (e.g., rationalists, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hegel): Everything is ultimately mental or spiritual.
- Dualism: Mind and brain are distinct realities. Mental activity is not reducible to the brain. The mind is considered more valuable than the body. Psychophysical dualism proposes three ways of understanding the relationship between mind and body:
- Parallelism (Leibniz): Mind and body operate in parallel without interaction.
- Occasionalism (Malebranche): Mind and body are connected at certain times.
- Epiphenomenalism: The mind is a byproduct of the body, with no causal influence.
- Physicalism: Mental activity depends on the brain and can be explained by physical reasons.
- Identity Theory: Mental activity is simply that of the brain.
- Type Identity Theory: Each type of mental state corresponds to a type of brain state.
- Token Identity Theory: Each individual thought corresponds to various brain states.
- Behaviorism: All mental activity translates into a certain behavior. We must analyze manifested behavior; the mind is a problem without meaning.
- Identity Theory: Mental activity is simply that of the brain.
- Functionalism: (Donald Davidson and John Searle) There is a complex interaction between body and mind. It is important to investigate how a mental state is related to other mental states and motivates a given behavior.
1.3 Consciousness: Reflexivity, Intentionality, and the Unconscious
Consciousness allows for a return to oneself, a reflection. Consciousness means coming back to oneself and becoming aware. It involves explaining or thinking about the explanation of something. Thanks to reflexivity, consciousness thinks about reflection, about other human beings, and about who we are.
Forms of consciousness that are related:
- Immediate Consciousness: The ability to be aware of and know our own presence; it does not need any intermediary.
- Mediate Consciousness: Allows us to think and judge the outside world and the consequences of our actions. It requires intermediaries, including external reality and the activity of other human beings.
Intentionality: Brentano and Husserl claimed that consciousness is intentional. All consciousness indicates an intention, pointing to an object other than itself. Consciousness is the ability to create relationships. We are aware when we maintain relationships with ourselves, others, or the outside world. Intentionality expands the meaning of the reflexivity of consciousness and does not allow it to be a closed substance.
The Unconscious: Consciousness can be a source of errors and illusions, and sometimes the source of neurological and behavioral disorders. Some philosophers emphasize the value of consciousness as a source of knowledge and a criterion of moral action, while others see it as a source of conflict and deception. Sigmund Freud provided the biggest criticism of the unquestionable value of consciousness.
Freud believed that conscious behavior is based on a universe of complex, vague items. What we call consciousness is based on a set of unconscious feelings and ideas that appear in dreams and failed acts. Only if the unconscious can be analyzed can consciousness be understood. Freud’s perspective shook the value assigned to consciousness and was the source of his critical analysis from the beginning of the 20th century.