Wednesday, October 5, 2011

"Keeping the Mind Theory" ( by Krystal Stone) as related to Dualism

There are significant scientific truths in regards to the mind body connection in Physicalism. I am in agreement with the fact that there is a connection with the brain, mind and body within the means of our physical existence. There is no denying that science is finding out more ways to understand the brain and how it works such as how and where interactions occur in the brain. One example of a degenerative brain disease that may relate to the mind body theory and the ideas of dualism and physicalism  is Alzheimer's Disease. In relation to physicalism, I think that the more science knows about why the degeneration that is happening in the brain, the more we can help the physical brain and body "keep the mind." However, this leads me to my disagreement with physicalism and my agreement with dualism. I think physicalism is based on trying to understand the mind as it relates to the brain which I think will never be fully understood in our physical existence. We may only figure out ways for the body not to loose consciousness. A patient diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's disease is experiencing rapid degeneration of the parts of the brain that allows them to "keep their mind" which leads to the patients loss of most or all of their consciousness. My belief is my own, which  I call "Keeping the Mind" theory in which the patients' "mind" or "consciousness" is not fully leaving the body and therefore hanging between the physical and non-physical. The physical as understood by science and logic is true but the non-physical can never be understood. We have mind when connected to the body or our brain which is a part of the body, but once our physical neurological functions begin to fail we loose our mind and consciousness begins to leave our body. There is no way to prove this "keeping the mind" theory by science but I believe it is the difference between mind-body and consciousness and therefore, I am a dualist.

1 comment:

  1. It is hard to disagree with what you say here of the way advances in brain science have supported physicalism. The example of Alzheimer's is a very good one.

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