As I thought about the questions to be addressed first this first essay, I found it difficult to come up with simple answer. I completely agree with the notion that most things make most sense in terms of the brain, and that most things can be accounted for in that way. So, the question I need to address was "what things are hardest to account for in this way?" It seems to me that each time I think of a possible topic, I can in one way or another make my way back to the brain. Philosophies, beliefs, behaviors, diseases, etc all seem to have a trace back to the nervous system. I did find, however, that the most difficult things to explain in these terms was the notion of a soul and spirit. Although I can see no separation between the brain and the mind, and I think one does not exist without the other, the soul and the spirit in both ancient and modern terms are not as easily explained. They have always been thought of as extensions of ourselves or even different entities all together; but what are they really? I suppose that each of these differs for each person depending upon his or her belief system, so I will address what is closest to myself: the Quaker idea of the "Inner Light." I guess you could say that if you "believe" in the Inner Light, that belief is associated with your brain. What I am trying to figure out is if we all do have this "Inner Light" through which the spirit of all of us(that of God in all of us) can be found, what is it in us that allows us to find that? An even more basic question(probably a more naive one) is "where is it?" I find myself moving onto a more spiritual discussion rather than a scientific one, but I think it was the certainty with which my Quaker elders spoke about this phenomenon that led me to ask exactly how tangible this is. Not only is it Quakerism, but most(if not all) other religions and beliefs have a notion of a spirit "within" all of us. It is this ambiguous "within" that I have difficulty finding. I am not saying that in one way or another specific links to the nervous system can't be found, but I think it would be difficult to do so. And sometimes that ambiguous "within" can be rather refreshing...

Wonderful essay. Thank you. I won't be worried about the ease of slipping between "scientific" and "spiritual" if you won't. "Where is it?" a very good starting question. And "does everybody have it? what allows it to be found?" excellent next questions. To keep mulling over. Quakerism is not (of course) on the course syllabus, but we will take about a number of examples of the "where", "does everyone have it?", "how do you find it" sorts of questions, and I'll be very interested in the extent to which you think they relate. PG