Analysis of Descartes’ Mind/Body Distinction Essay

Sure the brain has the actual chemical processes and functions, but the mind holds the reasoning behinds actions, and the complex feelings a person has. It is basically what makes a person who he is, and controls his actions as a person. The brain only tells the body to carry out these actions.

According to many different philosophers such as Descartes and Locke there has to be more to the mind than just the materialistic view. There are many different parts to the brain which make it a whole according to science, so thinking about the brain from a philosophical standpoint, there must be different parts to make up the minds identity. According to John Perry, the memories and personality traits as well as beliefs and intellectual skills make up a personal identity and the body is just a vessel that holds this identity (TP, 197). Certain people might believe that if one were to get a brain transplant they would wake up the same person they were before they went in for the surgery. I, on the other hand concur with Perry and the idea

As we all know, the brain controls everything we do, say, feel and think. It keeps us alive through circulation, breathing, digestion, hormones, and the immune system. Through the brain, we experience emotion and are able to express ourselves.

The assertion that brain equals behavior brings up many questions and concerns. I am currently most concerned by the effects of physical damage to the brain. Although we have concluded that behavior is based at the lowest level upon the workings of neurons, it is the actual integration of these neurons that account for behavior. Any damage done to the brain either by disease or other disorders can result in a direct change in not only behavior but also personality and our very concept of self. These are things that are very important to us as human beings and are important to be able to treat or cure such disorders. Because a "network" of neurons acting together directs

Is the mind and body one cohesive unit, or are both components mutually exclusive? This issue of mind and matter, as the article illustrates, has been a pervasive problem for centuries. How does matter, such as a combination of cells, develop the ability to reason? Our brain is a combination of cells generating a conscious being. How does this transition occur? This contentious issue has plagued generations and has yet to be adequately solved. As the article illustrates, the inability to solve this problem originates from man's tendency to apply a narrow discipline to a complex issue. During the 17th century civil war for instance, the concept of mind and body was reduced to a more convenient answer. During this period, philosophers and thought leaders were prone to find simple solutions to many of societies more complex issues. Thought leaders during this period believed that all things were comprised of both mind and matter. In many instances, the concept of the mind was very vague and difficult to define. These solutions however were inadequate as they didn't take into account the interconnectedness of many of the variables in which they used. In many instances, thought leaders of the period simply attempted to isolate one variable in hopes of finding a solution to the problem of mind and matter.

They regulate the functions that ensure the body's survival — blood circulation, digestion, respiration, bio-assimilation — but also emotions like fear when faced with danger. The most recent parts of the brain, those which are particularly developed in the human species, are the frontal lobes that enable reflection, knowledge, imagination, and control of emotions. For a well-balanced personality, emotions must be able to develop normally, and the brain must learn to recognize and control

In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes argues that the mind and the body are distinct because the differ in their essence, especially their essence of thinking, extension, and divisibility. In this essay, I will argue that Descartes’ argument is unsound, because his claim on the indivisibility and non-extension of the mind for his argument appears to be false based on modern studies and research on cases of mental illness and the brain’s connection to the mind. Furthermore, his mere assumption about the existence of the mind can also result in his premise about the mind’s essence to be false if the mind doesn’t actually exist. However, Descartes might respond that I am viewing his argument in the incorrect way, where in the text his

We might, on the other hand, think that the brain gives way to the illusion that a mind exists. In fact, the prevailing social norm of scientific realism suggests that any experience or phenomenon that cannot be explained by observation or experiment cannot be presumed to be spiritual in nature. There is amble physical evidence in the form of neuroscience and neurobiology that shows that emotions, cognitions, memories, and other attributes of the mind are actually stored or have origins in the brain. There is, furthermore, no proof of any survival of the soul after death and no proof that there even exists the individual self. Some philosophical traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism might even ironically coincide with the scientific perspective that the brain gives rise to the mind.

     One of the most complex and fascinating things in the human body is the brain. The body is “capable of almost everything, but it would not be possible, without the brain receiving information, and analyzing the information.”

The brain, as defined in the dictionary, is the organ of thought. I have always been fascinated by the physiological and neurocognitive as well as the spiritual and philosophical views of scholars and researchers about this. I find Psychiatry endlessly intriguing, and feel lucky to have this opportunity to pursue a career in this field.

The human mind is quite a mysterious machine. While we can break down and examine every detail and trait of the human brain, we cannot dissect the human mind. We can only observe its distinctive traits and behaviors. Brain states and mental states go hand in hand but do not equal each other. If they were identical, there would not be the case of whether they relate, but more so of how the relationship between the two works.

The brain is an amazing thing. It is the control tower of the human body, controlling everything from our thoughts to our actions to keeping us breathing and everything in-between. Scientists and researchers are always learning new and interesting things about the human brain. Consider these three recent Brain News studies:

Your brain is who you are; it’s what allows you to think, breathe, move, speak, and feel.

The brain is an important organ in the human body. Although, the brain is an intricate structure, it influences everything, as our thoughts, our actions, and our emotions. Gaining knowledge on the functions of the brain can aid us in understanding human behavior as to why they behave in the manner they do.

Our brains have the enough power to make all of the many different parts of our body function the way it should. It can make our body do involuntary actions that constantly keep us alive and healthy, and we don’t even realize all of the things that it is capable of. As Nicolaus Steno once said, “The brain, the masterpiece of creation, is almost unknown to us” (web.stanford.edu, 2014). The brain and its anatomy were first studied by the Egyptians in 1700 B.C., and ever since then, its immeasurable power has been continuously astonishing us with new and amazing discoveries of previously unknown capabilities (faculty.washington.edu, 2014). The first person to dissect the brain to study relationships between the brain and optic nerves was