Analysis of O'Hear Anthony's Article 'Philosophy, Biology and Life'

For centuries philosophers have engaged themselves into conversations and arguments trying to figure out the nature of a human person; this has lead to various theories and speculation about the nature of the human mind and body. The question they are tying to answer is whether a human being is made of only the physical, body and brain, or both the physical or the mental, mind. In this paper I will focus on the mind-body Identity Theory to illustrate that it provides a suitable explanation for the mind and body interaction.

Thesis: The mind-body problem arises because of the lack of evidence when looking for a specific explanation of the interaction of mental and physical states, and the origin and even existence of them.

The mind-body problem is a sophisticated topic discussed by many philosophers. But one philosopher in particular, Peter Carruthers, explains and solves the mind-body problem through the identity theory. I agree with Carruthers' claim that the mind and brain are both the same physical states. Opposing views argue that the mind is separate from the brain/body. Carruthers has made his concepts clear in his article “The Mind Is the Brain”.

In this paper I am going to speak about everything that we studied throughout this semester from the Philosophy class by Professor Matthew Sang, from Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Kant and Sartre in different perspectives. And to predict a brief conclusion regarding of what might be happen next. Every human being should know the past, the present and to think about the future. During this semester we learned many great and bad things that everyone should have known.

Mind and body are believed to be either one or two separated entities, depending on which philosopher you would ask. The belief that the mind and body are one entity is defined as monism. Physicalism is a monism. Those that believe in the idea of physicalism also believe that mind and body are not separate substances. Physicalism claims that the mind is something that is physical. It also claims that the mind is reduced to or identified with behavior. According to the website, philosophy basics, “those that believe in physicalism believe that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties and that the only existing substances is physical.” Both have valid arguments to prove their theories, which keep philosophers divided in between the two. Philosophers Thomas Nagel and Frank Jackson do not. Both philosophers have found problems with physicalism that seem to make the theory less sound. However, functionlists who are physicalists can argue back in objection to Nagel’s proposal to make the physicalists approach more sound.

The mind is perhaps the most fascinating part of the human body due to its complexity and ability to rationalize. In essence, the mind-body problem studies the relation of the mind to the body, and states that each human being seems to embody two unique and somewhat contradictory natures. Each human contains both a nature of matter and physicality, just like any other object that contains atoms in the universe. However, mankind also is constituted of something beyond materialism, which includes its ability to rationalize and be self-aware. This would imply that mankind is not simply another member of the world of matter because some of its most distinctive features cannot be accounted for in this manner. There are obvious differences between physical and mental properties. Physical properties are publically accessible, and have weight, texture, and are made of matter. Mental properties are not publically accessible, and have phenomenological texture and intentionality (Stewart, Blocker, Petrik, 2013). This is challenging to philosophers, because man cannot be categorized as a material or immaterial object, but rather a combination of both mind and body (Stewart, Blocker, Petrik, 2013). Man embodies mind-body dualism, meaning he is a blend of both mind and matter (Stewart, Blocker, Petrick, 2013). The mind-body problem creates conflict among philosophers, especially when analyzing physicalism in its defense. This paper outlines sound

The mind-body problem ultimately encases the difficulty understanding how the mind and body interact, what they entail, and how they interact and communicate. Rene Descartes believed that the mind and body are two separate entities, as stated in ‘Descartes’s Dualism’. He held the notion that while the body is in fact a part of the physical world our minds are not. Our minds are the consciousness that recognizes its existence through thinking and understanding. Descartes’ rationality behind disconnecting the mind from the entity that is our body is essentially due to the mind not meeting the criteria to be considered a part of the physical world. His reasoning being that physical things are extended and take up space, nor are they conscious. The mind does not have extensions. It does not take up space, therefore it is not a part of the physical world at all, but its dislocation from the physical world does not forfeit its existence. Descartes uses his criteria for material and immaterial by explaining the “physical” properties and attributes of the mind, or lack thereof: “To be conscious is not to be of a certain shape or size or to move in a certain way, but a quite different and indefinable property of which we are each intimately aware when we reflect on our own minds.” (Descartes, 262) We cannot

It can be very difficult to find a universal proposal that offers a solution to the mind body problem. While solutions to this problem differ greatly, all attempt to answer questions such as: What makes a mental state mental? What is the fundamental nature of the mental? Or more specifically speaking, what makes a thought a thought? Or what makes a pain a pain? In an attempt to answer these questions, many philosophers over the centuries have rejected, proposed, or altered preexisting theories in order to keep up with the thinking and science of their times. Entering the 21st century their still exit a plethora of theories, some stronger than others, which include Cartesian dualism, physicalism,

Rationalists and researchers have talked about the mind-body issue for a long time. The essence of the mind-body issue is that people have a subjective affair of an internal life or awareness that appears to be expelled from the physical world. In spite of a subjective affair of a partition amongst psyche and body, brain and body need to interface somehow. Precisely how the psyche and body associate is the subject of extraordinary debate. Toward the start of this course, I realized that my perspectives on the mind-body issue inclined more toward monism, however I didn 't have a reasonable method of reasoning for my position. Given the many-sided quality of the mind-body issue, I expected that both dualism and monism would have

The mind/body problem is regarding the nature of the relationship between the mind, consciousness, and the physical world. It is a problem because, it brings into question whether the mind and body are separate substances or of the same substance. It also asks whether there is a relationship between the two. The problem also questions what is defined as consciousness, and, how can it arise from normal materials. I don’t believe Descartes has adequately solved it with his concept of dualism because he points out that the pineal gland is responsible for how the two interact since there is no other function for that gland. However biologist have proven Descartes wrong and has no scientific proof that would suggest important functioning in the human body. Also, scientific research discovered

Many would argue between the existence of the mind-body. One may say that the mind and body are two separate entities with distinct characteristics (Dualism). While on the other hand, some may say that there exist only one entity (Monism). The mind represents mental processes such as thoughts and consciousness. The body represents physical aspects of the brain such as neurons and the formality of the brain. The debate over the mind-body existence have been constant through teachings and influences from intelligent philosophers. Rene Descartes’ Meditation on First Philosophy, he states that there exist two different entities the mind and body and that they both interact with each other. Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind critiques Descartes’s

The beginning of separation between the Western and Eastern cultures started in the 16th century .The mind and body was thought to be one in the 16th century; interacting with each other, being co-players that worked together to create the individual. In the 17th century, Rene Descartes went to the Catholic Church and made a deal: scientists could work with the man’s body while the church explored the mind and spirit. This event in history changed the way Physicians looked at the mind and body for centuries.

One theory the mind-body problem has created is materialism. Materialist believe we are one entity made of physical matter, our body. The second theory the mind-body problem has brought about is dualism. Dualists believe as human beings we are two entities, the body and the soul/mind. This theory also believes that the “real me” is the soul/mind. Hylomorphists have a problem with dualists because they see human beings as one entity with two dimensions, material and formal. Human bodies become human bodies by being engulfed by the soul [Christopher Shield, 4].

The brain serves as a connection between the mind and the body because it is a physical and changeable thing. A man’s mind is whole and indivisible.

Provided that the human being is composed by both, mind and body, and supported with works from philosophers as Baruch Spinoza and Ernst Mach, it is going to be sustained that the mind and the body are the same, as they compose the human body. Therefore, it can be argued that they have the same essence but they express different attributes. Despite they are different, one cannot exist without the other, or at least one´s existence cannot be proven without the other, meaning that the only way to prove the existence of the mind is through the body (language) and that the only way to prove the existence of a well-functioning body is through their feelings and