On the Mind and the Body
Many philosophical debates center around the relation between the mind, that is human consciousness, and the body, that is the physical vessel including the brain, internal organs, bones, blood, flesh, the nervous system etc. A common view holds that the metaphysical nature of the mind, and its processes set it apart from the other parts of the body. Biologists study how our hearts pump blood, the composition of that blood, and how it interacts with other organs. They have discovered how the atoms in our muscles trigger chemical reactions to make them move. These things are easily experimentable and observable given the right equipment. The mind comparatively is more difficult to describe in this degree of detail due to it being created in the brain, which is responsible for organizing the other organ’s functions. The brain is essential and sensitive to disturbances, which makes it difficult to study in a way that does not endanger the subject. The mind, though extremely complex and difficult for us to understand with our current means, is still manifested through physical aparati. As breath is to the lungs, the mind is to the brain. We do not concern ourselves existentially with the nature of breath however, because we can adequately describe its processes through biology and physics.
While acknowledging the necessary relation between the brain and the mind it appears illogical to consider the entities of mind and body as separate. The brain is an organ like any other of the body, without which we could not manifest our minds. We do not consider respiration as we do the mind, as an entity of its own, but their natures are the same. Both exist as products of our organs, which support all our activity whether that is breathing, thinking, digesting or whatever. Although, the mind of us humans is at the apex of the hierarchy of our systems, which is why we prioritize it. It is the conductor of the somatic orchestra. Without the other sections to play their parts, the conductor’s role is naught. In the same way, without the body, the brain is functionless and the mind is nonexistent.
So, to understand the mind, it does not suffice to consider it as some abstracted, inaccessible essence. We must understand the body, more specifically the brain. We can learn much about the functioning of the brain through fields such as neuroscience, psychology, and studies of human behavior. Only with the physical context of the mind within its vessel can we understand it for what it is.
[Expand: What does neuroscience, sacred texts, philosophies, biology, and psychology say about the mind and body.]
[Expand: Describe conscious and unconscious brain activity — conscious = mind.]