Free Essays on Mind And Body

The Mind-Body Issue The mind/body issue in philosophy asks many questions. At first, what are these things, these substances, that we call ‘mind’ and ‘body’? What are their individual natures? Are they the same thing? Or are they fundamentally different things? And if they are different, how do they interact? Do they interact? And if they interact, for what purpose do they interact? Such questions have plagued philosophy since at least Plato, leading some to privilege mind over matter, and leading others to believe that all that exists is mind idealism, and still others to argue that all that exists are bodies or physical matter materialism. In idealism and materialism, there would seem to be a similar impulse to make the mind/body problem go away. But true theories of mind and body do not attempt to rid one side of the equation, either mind or body, but rather attempt to account for both sides in a coherent theory. Still, as noted, many philosophies and religions attempt to answer the question of mind and body by simply subordinating one side to the other. For example, it would seem that many, but not all religions privilege the mind over the body, perhaps given its apparent nature as an immaterial substance, like God, or our spiritual selves; the body, for its part, has come to be seen as little more than a lowly, transitive, and sinful substance-a very narrow view, I hold. The problem is that we degrade our bodies, and such degradation has ancient roots. In a general sense, the wedge between mind and body can be traced as far back as Plato, and to the sharp distinctions that he drew between the immaterial or eternal parts of ourselves and the decidedly lesser substance that is manifest in bodies or physical matter. Mind, in Plato, connects to the lofty or higher parts of ourselves, and is associated with Knowledge, Truth, Morality, and ultimately the Soul; and through the mind we have access to the eterna... Free Essays on Mind And Body Free Essays on Mind And Body Mind – body dualism is defined as the mind and the body being separate but connected. Meaning the body is complex and made up of a bunch of different parts. The mind is private and is full of emotions and feelings. In the essay called â€Å"Lived Body†, by Drew Leder, he says that one of the consequences of Cartesian dualism is our understanding of our bodies as more dead than alive. By this he means that we see and examine the body as if the person were dead. â€Å"†¦the living patient is often treated in a cadaverous or machine-like fashion† (page 121). When a person goes to see a doctor for a medical reason, the physical examination is similar to when a pathologist does an autopsy. â€Å"The patient is asked to assume a corpse-like pose, flat, passive, naked, mute† (page 121). Throughout the physical exam, the patient rarely talks because the physician is concentrating on listening for possible heart complications, problems with the lungs or feelin g for abnormalities in the stomach. Leder suggests that the doctors treat the patients as machines. â€Å"Even when called upon to act or respond, it is largely in the machine-mode; the knee is tapped to provoke reflexes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 121). â€Å"At the core of modern medical practice is the Cartesian revelation: the living body can be treated as essentially no different from a machine† (page 121). Leder thinks that this belief will have consequences. Leder says â€Å"the machine-model of the body has given rise not only to therapeutic triumphs but to limitations and distortions in medical practice. For example, it is by now a clichà © that modern medicine often neglects the import of psychosocial factors in the etiology and treatment of disease† (page 121). Meaning that it is almost expected that doctors neglect certain conditions. Not because it is the correct way to make a diagnosis or that those little details do not matter. Disregard of those details is expected because doctors see patients... Free Essays on Mind And Body The Mind-Body Issue The mind/body issue in philosophy asks many questions. At first, what are these things, these substances, that we call ‘mind’ and ‘body’? What are their individual natures? Are they the same thing? Or are they fundamentally different things? And if they are different, how do they interact? Do they interact? And if they interact, for what purpose do they interact? Such questions have plagued philosophy since at least Plato, leading some to privilege mind over matter, and leading others to believe that all that exists is mind idealism, and still others to argue that all that exists are bodies or physical matter materialism. In idealism and materialism, there would seem to be a similar impulse to make the mind/body problem go away. But true theories of mind and body do not attempt to rid one side of the equation, either mind or body, but rather attempt to account for both sides in a coherent theory. Still, as noted, many philosophies and religions attempt to answer the question of mind and body by simply subordinating one side to the other. For example, it would seem that many, but not all religions privilege the mind over the body, perhaps given its apparent nature as an immaterial substance, like God, or our spiritual selves; the body, for its part, has come to be seen as little more than a lowly, transitive, and sinful substance-a very narrow view, I hold. The problem is that we degrade our bodies, and such degradation has ancient roots. In a general sense, the wedge between mind and body can be traced as far back as Plato, and to the sharp distinctions that he drew between the immaterial or eternal parts of ourselves and the decidedly lesser substance that is manifest in bodies or physical matter. Mind, in Plato, connects to the lofty or higher parts of ourselves, and is associated with Knowledge, Truth, Morality, and ultimately the Soul; and through the mind we have access to the eterna...