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K. Smythe's picture

Mind, brain or some combination

I find myself clearly "on the fence" on the issue of whether behavior is completely determined by the brain/nervous system or whether there is some other, alternative “mind”, “soul” etc. that may contribute.  I find that for me this is particularly difficult in terms of abstract notions such as emotions and creative or original thought.  I can see that motor neurons cause our physical behavior but what causes our internal state to be translated into a particular motion.  Is it the sum of our experiences which interprets our environment and then accordingly physically reacts?  The range of each individual’s experiences is so vast that this I suppose is entirely possible.  Added to this is the fact that how we process/experience an experience may also differ based on prior experiences or our actual physical differences from others.  Due to the abstract nature of emotions etc. this is a very hard point to even support without even touching on what is “true” (if that exists…).  Our understanding of the brain and how it functions is really quite elementary and I am still waiting on more evidence to make any sort of even remotely conclusive decision on this point.  However, I’m not sure that I am overly concerned about this.  Whether or not I transcend my physicality is almost irrelevant to me at this point, as that belief does not affect my personal experience of emotions etc.  Someone something along this line in class, and I found it to express my own thoughts: that the validity and experience of emotions etc. is not necessarily hindered by their source or knowledge thereof.  My experience with science thus far leads me to believe that as with most dichotomies it is probably some intertwined combination of multiple factors.

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