mind and body

[ckBejug]

People use this mind over body mentality ALL the time? I think it's just in certain situations... falling in love, giving in to desires, holding out on something, instinct, doing what we want over what we SHOULD, you follow either what your mind tells you or your body wants. I don't know that there's so much to debate here. I think we all agree that in certain situations you SHOULD follow your mind over your body.The problem is, often times, we DON'T.

anything else?

[spiral]

Originally posted by ckBejug People use this mind over body mentality ALL the time? I think it's just in certain situations... falling in love, giving in to desires, holding out on something, instinct, doing what we want over what we SHOULD, you follow either what your mind tells you or your body wants.

Yes, this was the "times" I was talking about, as I did mention that the question rooted form the Theories of Love thread.

I don't know that there's so much to debate here. I think we all agree that in certain situations you SHOULD follow your mind over your body.The problem is, often times, we DON'T.

There isnt any debate, I asked the question to see what people thought about the "mind over body" concept.

And you mentioned that the problem is that "often times we don't "_follow our minds

what I'm getting at is that- if we reverse this, and change it to "often time we do follow our minds instead of our bodies"_ do we deprive ourselves of our bodies-which I connect with emotions. And that's why I quoted the book.
This man completely deprived himself of feeling for another, because he made every choice based on his mind, he secluded himself, living in complete solitude and solace, choosing mind over body. Also was metnioned that he claimed that one who succumbs to emotions is rather weak, however, this rooted from the fact that he did not choose to neglect emotions, but was running away from them...

It was just an interesting thought. theres no right or wrong to the questions, just something to think about.

[loseyourname]

Reason and emotion both emanate from the mind. There is no dualism here. He just neglected one part of his mind in service to another. However, he is right to separate the two. Emotion comes at the expense of reason, but that doesn't mean emotion can't be valuable. The gut responses we experience have been evolving for millions of years and are more dependable than a lot of people will admit. The brain can do a lot that we are not conscious of and it is not necessary to bring all decision-making processes under the control of considered thought.

[spiral]

Originally posted by loseyourname Reason and emotion both emanate from the mind. There is no dualism here. He just neglected one part of his mind in service to another. However, he is right to separate the two.

The brain can do a lot that we are not conscious of and it is not necessary to bring all decision-making processes under the control of considered thought

If both reason and emotions both emanate from the mind, then it IS necessary to bring all-decision making processes under the control of considered thought. The two may not be separate but the mind Does separate them both, or categorizes them, into thought and emotion.

and If reason and emotions both emanate from the mind, as well as thought of course- then for what do we need the body for except a form to exist in.

[loseyourname]

Originally posted by spiral If both reason and emotions both emanate from the mind, then it IS necessary to bring all-decision making processes under the control of considered thought.

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If simple actions can be taken subconsciously, then it is a waste of resources to bring them under conscious control.

and If reason and emotions both emanate from the mind, as well as thought of course- then for what do we need the body for except a form to exist in.

The brain needs oxygen to remain functional, for one thing. There would also be nothing to think about or do if not for bodily action and sensory input. Furthermore, all brains must die at some point, and we need bodies to reproduce and create more brains.

[spiral]

Originally posted by loseyourname That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If simple actions can be taken subconsciously, then it is a waste of resources to bring them under conscious control.

yes, but what influences the subconscious acts?

[i]The brain needs oxygen to remain functional, for one thing. There would also be nothing to think about or do if not for bodily action and sensory input. Furthermore, all brains must die at some point, and we need bodies to reproduce and create more brains. [/B]

I wasn't speaking 'medically/biologically'

[loseyourname]

Originally posted by spiral [B]yes, but what influences the subconscious acts?

Reflex, honed over hundreds of thousands of years of evolutionary history. Your brain processes the information the same way, it just makes the easy decisions subconsciously. Take catching a baseball, for instance. There are countless physics calculations that must be made to determine where a baseball will be at any given time once it is in the air. If you consciously made all these calculations, it would take several minutes at least, and the baseball would be on the ground by the time you got to it. If you just sit back and let your brain do the work subconsciously, you will catch the ball. Perhaps PASAMONSTER should post something in here. This is a principle used widely by the military. In the midst of battle, there isn't a whole lot of time to think. That's why soldiers are conditioned to have automatic responses designed to give them a better chance of staying alive.

I wasn't speaking 'medically/biologically'

I wasn't only speaking in medical terms. But if you're looking for purpose, good luck. There may very well be no purpose; it might just be the way it ended up. But as I was saying, life as a brain wouldn't seem to be much fun. A brain can't move or see or hear anything. A brain can't play the cello or listen to the radio. A brain cannot interact with another brain. But in a stricter sense, a brain is not capable of existing without a body because of its energy needs. All living things need energy to continue living, and a brain cannot obtain energy on its own.

[Anonymouse]

A brain is not the mind. Let's not confuse it here.

Mind is akin to soul, or our awareness of ourselves.

[loseyourname]

Originally posted by Anonymouse A brain is not the mind. Let's not confuse it here.

Mind is akin to soul, or our awareness of ourselves.

That is irrelevant to the discussion. Whether thought arises in the brain or in something else, the points being made remain the same. I'm separating conscious thought processes from unconscious, emotional/reflexive processes. If you want to call one mind and the other brain, fine. It makes no difference.

[Anonymouse]

Originally posted by loseyourname That is irrelevant to the discussion. Whether thought arises in the brain or in something else, the points being made remain the same. I'm separating conscious thought processes from unconscious, emotional/reflexive processes. If you want to call one mind and the other brain, fine. It makes no difference.

The brain and mind are not the same. If thought arises from the mind, and we agree that the mind is intangible, whether conscious or unconscious thought, it has nothing to do with the brain, the brain being merely a mechanism akin to a computer that doesnt create thought, but only action.