Kabot-Zinn's Analysis

Some deeper understanding of ourselves is possible, though only at the moments prior to our deaths. Throughout this paper, I will primarily focus on the implications with attempting to understand one’s self. In the opening portion of this paper, I will discuss and explain problems of two separate chapters that pose particular difficulties for us to understand ourselves from Walker Percy’s Lost in the Cosmos. This will then lead me to my next section, where I will reflect on self-understanding and examine the possibility of resolving the problems of self-understanding that I discussed in the opening portion of this paper.

Armstrong begins his paper with a question for the reader of what it means to have a mind. It is well understood that man has the ability to perceive, to think, to feel, and so on, but what does it mean to perceive, to think, and to feel? The answer, he believes, lies in science. Seeing that science is constantly and rapidly gaining ground, he asserts that “...we can give a complete account of man in purely physico-chemical terms” (295?) Pointing out the fact that this view has been accepted by various scientists throughout time, he explains it is the most reliable way to approach the mind-body problem.

I found myself similar yet at the same time strangely unlike to the beings concerning whom I read and to whose conversation I was a listener. I sympathized with and partly understood them, but I was unformed in mind; I was dependent on none and related to none. “The path of my departure was free,” and there was none to lament my annihilation. My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them’” (Shelley 109). Since all people possess an innate thirst for knowledge, when society withholds an accessible means of receiving a standard education, a person may seek out alternative streams of enlightenment in order to quench that troubling thirst. On that quest, the person may encounter information that assails the following of social norms, instead appealing to radical and violent intuitions by calling for aggressive resistance and violence against society. Furthermore, a person without any prior knowledge exists in a state of malleability, which facilitates the retention of objectionable ideologies and rationalizations, especially if it spites the society that refuses to educate him or her initially, a sentiment the Creature doubtlessly relates to. It is true that even with a formal, sophisticated education, a person may nonetheless pursue opposing indoctrination out of curiosity or waywardness. Still, without even as

In Zinn Chapter 8 was about how the Louisiana purchase increased the size of the United by extending land to the Rocky Mountains. Mexico won its independence in the revolution against Spain in 1821.Texas broke off Mexico in 1836 and became the Lone Star Republic.So the US decided to buy Texas in 1845. Jame Polked moved into the White House and decided to send in some troops to Rio Grande but that was a problem for Mexico.The Rio Grande was the borderline for Texas but they didn't know at the time.This order provoked Mexicans. In March 28 1846 Taylor moved his troops Corpus Christ and waited for an attack. General Taylor quartermaster was riding up the Rio Grande and he disappeared 11 day later his body was found and his head was smashed.People

Lewis Thomas, an American essayist, conveys the importance of preserving the mystery of one’s mind in his essay, “The Attic of the Brain.” According to Thomas, humans produce internal conflicts because they overanalyze their choices. Internal conflicts are not only caused by overanalyzing, but also from the feeling of guilt which “repeats the same transgressive behavior in the future.” Guilt is an emotional experience humans constantly face after they realize they disrupted their standards of conduct, until they rectify their mistakes. Even though the punitive feeling of guilt brings forth a feeling of worriedness, Thomas mentions that overanalyzing a choice to discard “unidentifiable articles” in the attic or to preserve memories overwhelms the human mind. He uses the analogy of the multitude of “unidentifiable articles” in the attic to compare to the flood of ideas in the human brain. The commodities stored in the cramped attic are “an old chair, [and] trunkful of old letters” which serve as a purpose of remembrance, as the human brain is filled with crucial information that enables people to think, feel, and store memories (75). However, he argues that people frequently clash with their thoughts, since they clutter their brain with excessive information. People do not have the ability to control their own brain; as a matter of fact, the human brain, the most complex part of the body, controls itself. From his analysis of the human brain, it can be concluded that humans have “unconscious minds” that automatically process different thoughts and memories resulting in a limitless supply of creativity. People “discover new things” by learning from previous ideas and applying their creativity to their practical use. Overall, humans cannot operate their brain, but should allow the extraordinary mind to be free.

Harris, P. L. (1991). The work of the imagination. In A. Whiten (Ed.), Natural theories of mind (pp. 283-304). Oxford, England: Blackwell.

Through his novel Minsdsight, Daniel J. Seigel, M.D., sheds light on the wonderfully rich sea within the minds of human beings. This sea is adorned with memories and dreams, thoughts and feelings, hopes and wishes, as well as sorrows, fears, and qualms. The turbulence caused by these sorrows, fears, and qualms have the power to create feelings of overwhelming sensations. In order to surmount this turbulence, Siegel has coined the term “mindsight” which is a “kind of focused attention that allows us to see the internal workings of our own minds” (ix). Siegel promotes mindsight by weaving the concepts of neuroplasticity and integration in Part I and Part II of his novel.

In every person, a self which interacts with the world appears to live. However, what can one truly classify as their persona? Cognitive scientist Bruce Hood defines illusion as, “[the] experience of something that is not what it seems.” By this denotation, he classifies the ego as illusory; humans naturally experience it, but it does not actually exist. Accordingly, in Pablo Neruda’s “The Egoist,” Neruda contrasts personal identity with the natural world, deeming abandoning one’s individuality a necessary step to obtaining lasting satisfaction with existence. Neruda conveys his idea as a physician would a diagnosis; first identifying the problem’s nature, then outlining its effects and solution.

Stuck in the soul’s alluring ruse, the Egoist at first ignores actuality. Only upon harmonizing with

In every person, an ego which interacts with the world appears to exist; hence, languages use the basic pronouns, “I” and “you.” However, what can one truly classify as the self? Cognitive scientist Bruce Hood defines an illusion as, “[the] experience of something that is not what it seems.” By this definition, he classifies the self as illusory; humans naturally experience their self, but it does not actually exist. Similarly, in Pablo Neruda’s The Egoist, Neruda contrasts the ego with the natural world, deeming abandoning one’s self a necessary step to obtain lasting satisfaction with existence. Neruda conveys his idea as a physician would a diagnosis; first identifying the problem’s nature, then outlining its effects and solution.

As we begin to understand all the parts of our mind, our ego can develop and become

In this study [12] emphasize that there are another sources of experience which are above the experience of normal levels, namely Intuition. The intended experience differs from perception and thought. Intuition is present in human as a reality and is not reached by perception or mind. The reality of self is discovered through the method of Intuition to produce material reality. The essence of the material world is the self which meant to their life. The nature of the material world is constantly changing, and it is not static. In the reality of life, there are not two occurrences of the same. The essence of life is the existence of activities, actions, and movements.

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.

I believe our thoughts and mind have the ability to “create” our own reality. Our mind can influence how situations occur, as well as create opportunities, and essentially alter the way that reality takes its course. Look at individuals such as Wim Hof. Many may ask, “How in the world can this dude survive these brutal cold temperatures?” It is mind boggling that a man is able to do this and he claims that “If you can learn how to use your mind, anything is possible.” In fact, many of the most successful and brilliant people of the world have all made claims of their thoughts influencing their own reality and they all use this power to create the life they desire. Confucius stated that “The Man who says he can, and the man who says he can not. Are both

Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline