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emilie's picture

what is your definition?

In order to be able to make a distinction between mind and brain and whether or not they are the same or mutually exclusive, it is necessary to define what you mean by "mind". Here is the definition of mind according to a free online dictionary source (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mind):

"(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc."

Conciousness is defined as:

"the state of being conscious; awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc."

Therefore, in my humble opinion, the brain is the tool that we use in order to be able to perfrom the actions of being conscious or having feelings or being able to think, etc. The mind is the poetic or philisophical explanation for the technical functions of the brain. If we were to say that brain=mind then would it not be more correct to describe thinking and emotions or whatever in more scientific terms for example, if you are stressed you would say "oh man, my cortisol levels are really high right now!"

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