Searle's Mind-Body Problem

With the definition of cognitive neuroscience in mind, it is important to consider how the body is affected by the mind. While the mind-body issue is still not fully settled it has advanced to where we know that the mind is considered psychological and the body is neurological (Solso,2008) psychologists and philosophers are still debating wether they coexist

A factual definition of consciousness; Consciousness is “2: the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought: 3: the totality of conscious states of an individual.”(Pp. 1). One is able to physically feel, understand emotion, is a willing individual, and are

The mind is a complex myriad of thoughts and psychological systems that even philosophers today cannot entirely grapple. It is composed of the senses, feelings, perceptions, and a whole series of other components. However, the mind is often believed to be similar or even the same as the brain. This gives rise to the mind-brain identity theory, and whether there exists a clear distinction between the physical world and the non-material mind. In this paper, I will delineate the similarities and differences between mind and brain, describe the relevant ideas such as functionalism and materialism, and provide explanations on how these theories crystallized. Further, I will discuss the differing views of this concept from multiple philosophers’ perspectives and highlight the significance of each. Ultimately, I will defend the view that the mind-brain identity theory is false by analyzing its errors and examining the invalid assumptions it makes about consciousness.

In David Armstrong’s thought-provoking work titled, The Nature of Mind, he explains that the most convincing way to make sense of the mind-body problem is to approach it in a materialistic way. Specifically, Armstrong shows that the science of physico-chemical processes of the brain is the best way to explain the nature of our mind. He goes on to explain traditional and dispositional behaviorism, and states his own materialistic take on behaviorism. His arguments throughout his paper are very logical, and though there have been arguments against his explanations, he effectively justifies the materialistic view of the mind.

To quote Karl Popper, “Every solution to a problem, raises another unsolved problem” (Williams, 2003, p. 2). It has been a topic debated for centuries, still, a definitive solution is yet to be found that universally satisfies the problem of mind brain identity. The most logical answer comes in the form of monism. Therefore in this paper I will argue that the mind and the brain are identical, as the mind exists only as a property of the brain. David Lewis and D.M Armstrong give support for the causal relationship between mind and brain states in the form of the identity theory, and deal with the multiple realisability argument provided by Hillary Putman. Gottlob Frege provides his support for materialism by showing that mental states are determined by the function of the brain, while discounting Thomas Nagel’s argument which proposes the idea of Qualia. Both the functionalist theory and identity theory reach agreement on the materialistic view that the mind and brain are of the same substance.

Daniel Bor, a psychological researcher, and author, wrote an article titled “When Do We Become Truly Conscious” published on September 4, 2012 and in this article he discusses the idea of consciousness. Through use of deductive reasoning Bor refers to early opinions viewing consciousness as magic and discusses the science behind demystifying consciousness. Bor also discusses the ethical arguments behind learning for about consciousness. Bor also lists some of the emotional arguments centered on human awareness. Bor’s use of rhetorical strategies is designed to state his opinion in a simple and easily read way.

Consciousness refers to an individual’s self-awareness, both internally and external stimulus which include your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment. Your consciousness can constantly change from one conscious to another. The constant change in consciousness can also be referred to as “stream of conscious”. Awareness- its mechanism and function has

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”.

Searle argues that there is compatibilism, in that we are determined physically, like everything else in the universe, however, we are free in the psychological sense. This brings me back to my previous question, how can Searle claim that the psychological state is distinct from the physical state? In his mind body solution, he clearly states that the brain is not anything special other than mass and that consciousness and mental states arise out of the brain’s functions. This seems completely contrary to his argument for freedom. This is severely confusing, after solving the mind body problem, he proceeds to again separate the mind and body into two categories falling into the same trap the duelists do. My problem with his argument is largely based on the fact that the mind and the body are the same entity. Both are physical beings, mental states in the brain and also intentions should also be considered physical things sense they are the things that arise out of the processes of a physical thing, the brain. Furthermore, if both of these entities are physical things, then it would seem that we are determined beings. If I am correct, then Searle would also consent to this, given that both the brain and its processes are considered physical beings. Searle consents to the idea that physical bodies are deterministic therefore if I were

     Searle disagrees with the view that the physical composition of the system does not influence the mental state of the

The mind-body problem is an age-old topic in philosophy that questions the relationship between the mental aspect of life, such as the field of beliefs, pains, and emotions, and the physical side of life which deals with matter, atoms, and neurons. There are four concepts that each argue their respective sides. For example, Physicalism is the belief that humans only have a physical brain along with other physical structures, whereas Idealism argues that everything is mind-based. Furthermore, Materialism argues that the whole universe is purely physical. However, the strongest case that answers the commonly asked questions such as “Does the mind exist?” and “Is the mind your brain?” is Dualism.

The Representational Theory of Mind proposes that we, as both physiological and mental beings, are systems which operate based on symbols and interpretations of the meanings of such symbols rather than beings which operate just on physiological processes (chemical reactions and biological processes). It offers that humans and their Minds are computing machines, mental software (the Mind) which runs on physical hardware (the body). It suggests, too, that we are computing machines functioning as something other than a computing machine, just as every other machine does.

The mind and body problem is a conundrum that argues the explanation of how mental

The Mind-Body problem arises to Philosophy when we wonder what is the relationship between the mental states, like beliefs and thoughts, and the physical states, like water, human bodies and tables. For the purpose of this paper I will consider physical states as human bodies because we are thinking beings, while the other material things have no mental processes. The question whether mind and body are the same thing, somehow related, or two distinct things not related, has been asked throughout the history of Philosophy, so some philosophers tried to elaborate arrangements and arguments about it, in order to solve the problem and give a satisfactory answer to the question. This paper will argue that the Mind-Body Dualism, a view in

Consciousness allows a person to recognize their existence, and subsequently, to form their essence. The