Mind Body And Soul

Are the mind and body separate or one? This is a question that people have been trying to answer for years. Plato thought of the mind and body as separate with the soul going on after death. This is considered dualism. Rene Descartes is famously quoted for saying “Cogito ergo sum” which translates to “I think therefore I am”. This quote is only meant to prove that the mind exists, it has nothing to do with proving that ones own body exists.

Materialist philosophers believe that the mind is not separate from the body. Rather they believe that the mind is produced by physiological functions of the brain. Neuroscientists would most likely agree with this. Research shows that what we regard as mind and consciousness is actually a side effect of synaptic functioning. This goes against Descartes famous quote. Instead they would see it as “I am therefore I think”.

So what is the brain? The brain is very unique. It’s the only “organ” that serves no clear function. It makes you breath but it’s not part of the respitory system. It also controls blood pressure and circulation but its not part of the circulatory system. What the brain essentially does is govern the body in that its functions are largely regulatory. It gathers information about the environment, information about the body, and the information about the good and bad consequences of interactions between the two.

So the concept of body has no meaning without the brain. The brain reads the state of the body and makes fine adjustments while also reading the environment around you and directs the body in reacting to it. This process continually reshapes the brain by making new connections. Doing almost anything generates new links among neurons which changes the brain. Essentially our brain has evolved to constantly adapt in order for us to survive as a species. This constant change of our brains explains why our memory can be faulty at times. This is because the brain that does the remembering of a memory is not the same brain that formed the initial memory. In order for the old memory to make sense in the current brain, the memory has to be updated.

So if two people were to switch minds they would essentially be switching brains. So if Don Lynch ended up putting my brain in another persons body and you ignored the obvious visual change would I still be the same person? I personally believe I would. However, I feel I wouldn’t be the same for long due to the fact that the brain is constantly changing and that the body has an effect on the way the brain changes.

So depending on your own personal views the definition of mind, body, and soul are different. I personally take on a materialistic view. I would define mind as a result of synaptic functioning going on in the brain and body as the physical matter that makes up my body which includes the brain.

As far as defining soul I honestly couldn’t tell you because I haven’t made up my mind on if we have souls or not and most likely never will. I feel the definition of soul has been highly influenced by religion and I consider myself an agnostic. Karl Marx said “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” His view of why religion not only existed but was so popular was because it was a way to give comfort to people who were unhappy. If people couldn’t find comfort in this life, religion told them that it was ok because they would find true happiness in the next life. And it’s the soul that is believed to exit the body and carry on after a person’s death.