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In class on Thursday I was one of the people who belonged to “on the fence” on this discussion regarding whether the brain is equal to behavior. Looking over my classmates responses on this discussion I rephrased the question for myself as: Is the brain=soul, or are they separate? This question arose as I was reading over Crick’s definition of behavior as including our emotions, memories, ambitions, and identity. I am torn about believing that all of this is essentially a result of an “assembly of nerve cell and their associated molecules”. I feel if this were true, then why are we all so different—especially those of us who are fortunate to have healthy brains—meaning functional and not affected by any disease. If all of our brains are made up of the same molecules and nerve cell systems, then how come we tend to have different cognitive abilities. For example how is it that some people are good at learning new languages, or how some people tend to understand concepts of math and science quicker than other people. I do believe that our experiences and environments do have an impact on the capabilities of our separate brains—but doesn’t this mean that we all start from the same level? If this is true that no one is born with a mental advantage over another—that what implications may this have on social issues such as affirmative action in our education system?

The other issue that I pointed out about soul was that to scientists tend to equate the word soul with mind. Crick is one of these scientists and he holds the position that everything knowable about the human soul can be discovered by studying the human brain. Perhaps this is what Emily Dickinson may have meant that the brain is wider than the sky and that the sky could fit into the brain—maybe she is speaking to the fact that our mind is infinite and that much can be found within it.

The soul has many philosophical and religious connotations. The soul is thought to incorporate the inner essence of each living being, some religions believe that souls are considered to be immortal and has a link with notions of an afterlife. Being a Muslim I been raised to believe that at death, “ the person's soul transitions to an eternal afterlife of bliss, peace and unending spiritual growth until the day of judgement where both the body and soul are re-united for judgement at which point the person is either rewarded by going to heaven if he has followed God's commands or punished if he has disobeyed Him (Qur’an 66:8, 39:20).” Generally I believed that everyone is comprised of two aspects: the physical (being the body) and the non-physical (being the soul). The soul is one’s soul-related activities like his/her feelings and emotions, thoughts, conscious and sub-conscious desires.

On the other hand, scientifically the explanation of the brain is that our behavior is just the reaction as the brain receive signals through nerves arriving from the sensors, these sensors are then processed resulting in appropriate reactions. The brain acts instinctually, such as recognizing danger, the instinct of finding foot, indentifying or forming attraction for potential maters and other functions. Also the fact that the brain has muscle control makes me believe the science of the brain and understand the structure of how messages are sent to the muscles to react in certain ways. This also pertains to the hormones that are produced by the brain that assist in influencing organs elsewhere in the body.

This scientific evidence also makes me believe that our consciousness is derived from the brain, especially since many brain diseases show symptoms that have an impact on an individual’s personality, and cognitive processing. For example mental illnesses such as clinical depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder are brain diseases that impact personality and other mental functions.