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The mind-body problem

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I need help to discuss the "Mind/Body" problem in philosophy.

In my discussion, I need to be sure to answer the following questions:
a. What is the realm of mind and consciousness?
b. How does the realm of mind and consciousness relate to the physical body?
c. Is there such a thing as an independent mind that transcends physical functions of the body through the central nervous system? Why or why not?

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Solution Summary

How does a scientific psychologist solve the dilemma of how a immaterial mind can interact with a material brain to result in action? What is this "mind" thing anyways. Below I detail, in a brief fashion, the mind-body problem and how scientific psychologist and philosophers have dealt with the problem. I air on the side of true science in which nothing supernatural and nothing immaterial can exist. Thus, I touch on topics such as religion and God because at their heart, these questions are expressions of the dualistic thinking that allows for mind-body dualism to remain a popular idea.

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The mind body problem is in a large part a philosophical question. The question boils down to whether you are a dualist, believing in a separate mind and body, or are you a monist, believing the there is no real mind and that all biological processes that we label "mind" are epiphenomena of our brain's natural processes. To claim the mind is seperate from the body means that is it is not part of the biology of a human. This view fits well with religious people because they can contort themselves to believe that the mind is imbued by their creator as their soul.

The question gets even more complicated when you add into the equation your beliefs about materialism or naturalism vs supernaturalism or metaphysics. The former is the idea that all that exists and will ever exists can be explained by science and is part of the natural world. The latter is the idea that there are things beyond the reach of science. In essence, they are really questions about ...

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