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Thinking of the essence of a person in terms of their nervous system is an idea I would like to pursue more...

When we were discussing the "Christopher Reeves example" I was sure someone would object and present the option of the mind/essence of someone not necessarily being contained within the nervous system - but surprisingly nobody did.  On second thought, maybe as we keep going further up the nervous system and not "locating" Christopher Reeves, we'll have to give the mind/body question more thought.  We discussed the idea of mind/body dualism a bit in the beginning of the course (I think), but I think it may really come into play as we further discuss the nervous system/brain.  I wonder if there would be a difference in education if we were to approach students as minds rather than brains, or vice versa...do you have to understand the brain to understand the mind, or the mind to understand the brain?

A clinical approach to education/the brain/mind could improve education, or be completely ineffective.  I really am not sure which way it will go, although I think some intrinsic understanding of the mind always helps.