The Central Nervous System and Brain Without a Mind or Soul - Essay Example

Position of Dualism and Physicalism This essay explains the positions of Dualism and Physicalism based on available evidence on the two philosophical worldviews. To achieve this end, the perception held by physicalists that the universe is merely made up of the physical properties is assessed followed by investigation of property and substance dualism as the two properties held by dualists. The arguments for and against dualism and physicalism are necessary in the order to establish points of departure that make the two worldviews distinct from each other. Physicalism holds the position that it is only matter which exists where in the example of human beings it physicalists argue they merely exit as physical entities. This philosophical thought has been applied for instance in the mind-body relation to claim that a human being is a physical system with the central nervous system and brain without a mind or soul (Crumley 5). For instance, physicalists postulate that the mind or soul is not an immaterial substance but occurs in physical form that is consisted of cells at one level which can be broken down further into atoms at their smallest level. This makes the mind and the brain to be same substance in an outlay where the mind is a consequence of neural connections. This positioning of the mind and the brain based on the assumptions make in physicalism means that damage to the brain translates to the same damage in the mind. This is true for example in the case of the brain which contains multiple elongated cells referred to as neurons whose function is to carry specific impulses. Contacts between neurons take place through points of contact named synapses. A specific neuron in the human nervous system is the C-fibers whose function is to supply the skin with nerves and transmit pain impulses. According to Physicalist, when a person experiences an occasion of pain or occurrence of a thought these are believed to be physical events related to C-fibers transmitting or certain electrical and chemical events taking place in the brain and central nervous system (Crumley 64). Apart from the assumption that the mind and brain are the same, another condition of physicalism is based on the belief that the physical world is causally closed. The thesis of causal closure fundamentally argues that any physical event must equally have a physical cause. This assumption by the Physicalists means that for every occurrence in world, there must be an explanation on the basis of causal interactions occurring at the physical level. Therefore, this worldview is guided by the assumption that natural sciences are essential in understanding the world. This conviction by physicalists is based on the historical success of science over the years from thousands of years when humans did not understand how the universe operated to the period of scientific revolution an up to the current scientific knowledge (Jaworski 75). This scientific progression according to physicalists will lead to a possible future where the discipline will be able to provide all the answers to questions about the universe. Physicalists presents different examples in support of their belief on the progression of knowledge about physical existence where for instance abnormal human behavior was in the past explained based on the beliefs about existence of nonphysical ghosts that possess the human body but this have since been disapproved through physical explanations about brain abnormalities (Jaworski 78). Dualism is a philosophical argument that is in opposition to physicalism and is based on the belief that apart from the physical body, human beings have a nonphysical component of the mind, soul or the self. The difference between the physicalists and dualists is therefore based on the existence of the mind, soul or the self where the former believes it does not exist but the later asserts genuinely mental entities are real. For instance, sensations exist in deferent aspects that include components such as sounds, colors, tastes, smells, and pain. These sensations can occur at different times and different levels where for instance one can experience the color blue by looking in a given direction at a blue object but the blue color can also be experienced by closing the eyes and imagining it. The other level of the sensation of color is taking into consideration the felt quality or sensory property necessary in making them what they are. For example, the essence of a blue sensation is an aspect of the appearance of a specific shade of color to one’s field of vision (Madden 88). Apart from the notion of sensations, dualists also believe in the existence of propositional attitudes which relates to having specific mental attitudes represented for instance by one’s dreads, fears, thoughts among others. These examples present different states of consciousness that can be separated through considerations of the attitude itself and the meaning or content carried by the propositional attitude (Madden 289). Dualism is divided into two verities that include property and substance dualism with the differences between the two being the result of divergent views regarding mental properties. For property dualists the individual is a living physical body that also has a mind made up of continuous series of unconscious and conscious events. Property dualists therefore believe the mind is as a result and not the cause of body activities therefore making the mind “property of the body which ceases to exist when the body ceases to function” (Ayala and Arp 5). This perception of the property dualists is different from that of substance dualists who assert that the brain and mind can be separated based on the stance that the brain is a physical aspect of human beings having physical properties while the mind or soul represents the mental substance with mental properties. These differences can be explained by for instance using pain where the brain is composed of a physical property represented by the chemical and electrical components while on the other hand, the soul, mind or self also carries specific mental properties characterized by the conscious awareness of pain. Based on the arguments by substance dualists, the soul and the brain can interact at different levels but the soul will always remain intact and unchanged throughout an individual’s existence. Additionally, this separation means the soul is not a part of the brain or the mental processes occurring within the body of an individual which means that the soul is able to survive the destruction of the body (Crumley 23-29). The existence of different perceptions held by physicalists and dualists have led to different arguments over which one among the two closely represents the actual existence. Physicalists points out a number of reasons to support their rejection of the assumptions by dualists that the mind and matter or physical properties can be separated. One of the arguments used by physicalists to support their stand is the Ockham’s razor which is in support of the empiricist view of body and mind. This is based on the extensive knowledge which exhaustively indicates that the physical matter exists while the existence of spiritual matter remains debatable. The simplest route to take as advocated by the Ockham’s razor hypothesis is to follow the physicalists approach since the dualistic view of consciousness is unnecessarily complicated while there is enough empirical evidence to explain an entirely physicality of the mind and consciousness. For example, available empirical knowledge has shown the possibility of physical manipulation of the brain through physical substances such as alcohol, drugs and brain injuries. Based on the view held by the dualists that the brain and soul, mind or self are distinct, these manipulations would not have any effects on emotion, reason and consciousness (Baggini, and Southwell 92-95). There are a number of arguments that have been advanced to counter the worldview held by physicalists. Among such arguments is the Hempel’s dilemma which seeks to disprove the notion that everything can be exhaustively described and explained by physics. This proposition was presented by Carl Hempel who argued there were two approaches that can be used in the definition physicalism. The two approaches according to Hempel concerns the decision whether to define physicalism using with respect to properties of modern physics or through the application of some future physics which according to him will be ideal and complete in nature. Hempel’s dilemma s therefore as a result of the recognition that the “science is a progressive endeavor”. This is a result of different problems presented by physicalism including as the argument presented by this worldview must be based on either “relative to a preliminary stage of its development or relative to the final, ideal stage” (Jaworski 79). Jaworski argues physicalism becomes false if it defines physics based on preliminary of its development while on the other hand attempts to define the discipline based on future final ideal stage will render it lacking in content. The assertion by physicalists that everything can only be explained using physical properties might be false given the continued discovery of ne knowledge where the current understanding of the universe might be replaced by a more comprehensive knowledge in the future based on the fact that the world had not achieved the ideal stage of physical theorizing. Support of dualism is based on a number of propositions including the endurance of personal identity where individuals are thought to maintain absolute identity throughout different changes in their lives (Baggini and Southwell 110). For instance, a person remains the same from childhood to adulthoods even though there are different developmental changes as well as looking different parts of the body such as the hair, fingernails in addition to different atoms being replaced through the years (Gasser and Stefan 165). The existence of numbers also points to the existence of nonphysical properties through mathematics since mathematics is an important source of knowledge and truth, there must be something that the discipline is about. Given the example of biology which seeks study organisms, mathematics also becomes a study of numbers. Therefore, although numbers are not physical objects one cannot deny their existence as that will bring into disrepute the field of mathematics as a field of study that conveys knowledge about something (Loptson 33). From the foregoing, physicalism and dualism are distinct worldviews about the existence of the physical property and the mind, soul or the self. Although the two worldviews are in agreement about the existence of the physical being, there are inconsistencies in their perceptions about existence of the mental substance. Physicalism is a philosophical worldview that asserts there is only the existence of the physical properties without the mental substance. These assertions by the physicalists have been challenged by dualists who think the physical substance can be separated from the mental substance therefore creating two levels of being. Further there are different varieties of dualism based on the ability to separate the soul from the body where property dualism argues that this is not possible while substance dualism is based on the perception that the mind or soul will exist even when the body is destroyed. Works Cited Ayala, Francisco J., and Robert Arp, eds. Contemporary debates in philosophy of biology. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Baggini, Julian, and Gareth Southwell. Philosophy: Key Themes. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print. Crumley, Jack S. A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print. Gasser, Georg, and Matthias Stefan, eds. Personal Identity: Complex Or Simple?. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print. Jaworski, William. Philosophy of mind: A comprehensive introduction. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Loptson, Peter. Reality: fundamental topics in metaphysics. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2010. Print. Madden, James. Mind, Matter, and Nature. Washington: CUA Press, 2013. Print. Read More