The Concept of Mind

arise from the nature of the mind. What makes up the mind and whether or not the mind is something more than just a brain is something tough to answer. Although in 1949, Gilbert Ryle disrupted this understanding of dualism by claiming this belief is a “ghost in the machine” and commits a “category mistake” (Ryle). Ryle intends to challenge dualism, not fight against it. He rewrites some of the fundamental language of dualism so that he can more clearly point out the problems with what others have said about it. Fighting equally as hard, Descartes defends what he has said, but by picking apart dualism, Ryle successfully debuts what Descartes has preached and manages to not reveal an answer to the underlying…

Mind Body Dualism When separated from their body, a person is given a difficult choice on who they will torture. In this scenario, two people consciously switch their bodies. Then, they are given a choice: they can transfer their mind into this new body and have their old body receive torture, or they can be transferred into the new body and then consciously receive the torture (344). The choice that a person makes showcases whether they will choose to preserve their old body, relying on the…

There are three kinds of forgiveness, all interrelated. There is self-forgiveness, which enables us to release our guilt and perfectionism. There is the forgiveness we extend to others and receive from them, intimates and enemies alike. And there is the forgiveness of God that assures us of our worth and strengthens us for this practice. I meditate to calm the mind and integrate the higher aspects of our being and to lower self ego. To keep relationship with God in good working order and life…

Is the mind distinct from the body? After confirming my conclusion and considering Strawson's predicate and numerical identity argument, no it is not, but according to Descartes, he believes it is. Descartes beliefs, known as Cartesian Dualism, is the belief that “a person’s mind and a person’s body are things of totally different sorts” (18.) Descartes states that “the mind is not a material or object, that it is separate from an individual’s body but connect with one another through common…

the philosophical theory that all concepts (impressions and ideas) come from experience. Empiricism is the counter theory to innatism which holds that the mind is not ,what Locke believes to be “blank slate” at birth, but rather, is pre-equipped with certain concepts prior to the sensory experience of them. Some early 17th century innatists include Rene Descartes and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who significantly added on to Plato’s original theory of innatism. Hume’s first argument in support of…

Adler probes the relationship between the mind and the body. He describes the four main theories regarding this relationship and separates them into two categories: extreme and moderate. Among the four theories, Adler argues in favor of moderate immaterialism. His argument is easily the most convincing as it accounts for the essential difference between man and animal, our intellect, while acknowledging the congruity between the mind and body. The extreme positions described by Adler are monism…

Consolidation of the Mind, Being, and God Just as Descartes uses triangles as a powerful tool of proof, a triangle can be created between the concepts of mind, being, and God. That is, these three notions have significant connection to each other. For the purpose of this paper, imagine that the mind, being, and God are each the vertex of a triangle with lines connecting them. The purpose of this triangle is not to add a mystical element to this paper but rather to use it as a tool to organize…

Final Paper: David Lewis Prompt In his work, Mad Pain and Martian Pain, David Lewis argues that we can apprehend the concept of pain by applying an ambiguous, yet effective Materialist Mixed Theory of mind. The Mixed Theory of mind includes an Identity Theory and a Functionalist Theory—which Lewis must necessarily accept in order to have his theory of pain. Phenomenologists argue that Lewis fails to account for the experience of pain—the what it is like to be in pain and to feel pain. I will…

The purpose of the Theaetetus is to examine how the mind accounts for knowledge by seeking an answer to the question Socrates poses to Theaetetus, what is knowledge? (146A). After a few failed attempts at answering, Theaetetus posits that knowledge is true opinion (187B). Socrates responds that in order for one to know what true opinion is, he must also account for false opinion in the mind. Ultimately, while the dialogue produces no operative definition for knowledge, Plato employs this…

protect oneself from thoughts that are painful or difficult to handle. Freud’s model of the human mind attributes self-deceit to the “unconscious” mind. Just as processes in a lecture hall could be disturbed by one unruly student behaving contrary to the accepted rules of the establishment, so too is a mind disturbed by thoughts and memories contrary to the sensibilities of the individual. When strong morals are challenged by disturbing ideas, the mind protects itself by removing the thought…