Biology and its associated fields of cognitive neuroscience do shed light upon the maze of neural networks in the brain, but a purely Physicalist or Reductionist view cannot fully explain our first-person conscious experience of life. Biology has made great leaps in understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying our behavior. Neuroscience has done a wonderful job highlighting the brain areas associated with motor and sensory functions. However, knowing the physiological pathways involved with a behavior does not imply a full understanding. Attempting to explain this first person feeling of awareness is central to the discipline known as Philosophy of Mind (Lowe, 2000).
We have to remember to include both proximate and ultimate causes for the "trait" we are examining.
Philosophy of Mind focuses on the connection and interaction of the mind and body and its associated questions and implications. This mind-body problem is often referred to as the hard problem of consciousness and asks how mental phenomena can be affected by and can affect the physical collection of cells and molecules that make up the brain (Lowe). The brain is defined as being physical and part of the body. The mind is more difficult to define because for many it is viewed as something outside of the brain and our bodies, although it is physically manifested in the brain, its properties are usually referred to as mental and believed to be "non-physical."
Philosophy of Mind focuses on the connection and interaction of the mind and body and its associated questions and implications. This mind-body problem is often referred to as the hard problem of consciousness and asks how mental phenomena can be affected by and can affect the physical collection of cells and molecules that make up the brain (Lowe). The brain is defined as being physical and part of the body. The mind is more difficult to define because for many it is viewed as something outside of the brain and our bodies, although it is physically manifested in the brain, its properties are usually referred to as mental and believed to be "non-physical."
Some view the brain as the hardware and the mind as the software having the ability to "run" different applications and process information (Clarke, 2001).
Francis Crick's astonishing hypothesis can be difficult for many to accept. It is not easy to peer inside the brain and decide if it is the neurons firing that lead to us learning and experiencing, or if it is something else. We have mapped out our entire genome and we are searching for the code that leads to a conscious mind. It begs the question of whether or not our thoughts, or even more generally our conscience experience, can be broken down computationally.
David Chalmers, a leader in the field of Philosophy of Mind, questions, "Why does the feeling which accompanies awareness of sensory information exist at all?" He continues to argue that there is an explanatory gap between the objective world and subjective experience (Chalmers, 1996). Philosophers and many people struggle with the question of how the mind is related to the body.
David Chalmers, a leader in the field of Philosophy of Mind, questions, "Why does the feeling which accompanies awareness of sensory information exist at all?" He continues to argue that there is an explanatory gap between the objective world and subjective experience (Chalmers, 1996). Philosophers and many people struggle with the question of how the mind is related to the body.
There is no consensus of what properties, functions and occurrences should be regarded as mental or physical. This lack of consensus makes the brain, mind and mind-body connection a very difficult area to navigate, but it is not reason to stop the investigation.
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