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Sitino uhi
Jeff wood
Philosophy1000
April 27, 2016
The mind and body problem is the problem of explaining how we mentally process things
like states, events, and beliefs; actions and thinking are related to the physical states, events and
processes, given that the human body is a physical entity and the mind is nonphysical. The mind
and body problem is the problem of determining the relationship between the human body and
the human mind.
Philosophical positions on this question are generally predicated on either a reduction of
one to the other, or a belief in the discrete coexistence of both. This problem is usually
exemplified by Descartes, who championed a dualistic picture. The problem they are in is to
establish how the mind and body communicate in a dualistic framework. Neurobiology and
emergence have further complicated the problem by allowing the material functions of the mind
to be a representation of some further aspect emerging from the mechanistic properties of the
brain. The brain essentially stops generating conscious thought during deep sleep, but the ability
to restore a pattern remains a mystery to science and its a subject of current research seen also
by neurophilosophy.
The problem was brought up by Ren Descartes in the 17th century, resulting in
Cartesian dualism, and by pre-Aristotelian philosophers. Dualism is maintaining a rigid of
distinction between the realms of mind and matter. Monism maintains that there is only one

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unifying reality; substance or essence in terms of which everything can be explained. Each of
these these two things contain numerous variants. The two main forms of dualism are substance
dualism, which holds that the mind is formed of a distinct type of substance not governed by the
laws of physics. For Descartes the body is a mechanical system of tiny fibers causing movements
in the brain. The second form of dualism is monism. It is the general name for the belief that
everything consist of only one ultimate unique substance, such as matter. The official doctrine,
which hails chiefly from Descartes, is something like this: With the doubtful exceptions of idiots
and infants in arms of every human being have both a body and a mind. Some would prefer to
say that every human being is both a body and a mind. His body and his mind are ordinarily
harnessed together, but after the death of his body his mind may continue to exist and function.
The doctrine that corollaries with the beliefs about the immorality of the soul and reincarnation
are implicated in psychological theories that view the mind as something other than the just the
brain, and differentiate the mental states from bodily conditions and behavior. The official
doctrine is reflected in ordinary language when we talk about having a body and in common
experience when we feel as if we are somehow in our bodies.
Religious and metaphysical versions of the official doctrine sometimes compare the soul
to a driver and the body to a car. At death, we get out of the car or, if you believe in
reincarnation, trade the old body into one whole thing.
The mind is about mental process, thought and consciousness. The body is about the
physical aspects of the brain-neurons and how the brain is structured. The mind-body problem is
about how these two interact.

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One of the central questions in psychology and philosophy concerns the mind and body problem;
is the mind part of the body, or the body part of the mind? If they are distinct, then how do they
interact, and which of the two is in charge? I believe that what Descartes was saying is
something is to consider, that his soul is lodged inside his body and is the pilot of a vessel, but
that hes closely united to it, and so to speak so intermingled that he believed to be one.

Sources used:
Archetypes of Wisdom: An introduction to philosophy. By: Douglas J. Soccio
www.wikipedia.com