Summary of our discussion

4.1 Overview: the Mind-Body Problem

4.2 Substance Dualism

The Mind-Body Problem

Consciousness has been described as “the hard problem”. How does a physical brain give rise to a conscious experience? We generally agreed with the general scientific view that the mind and the body are the same. Electronic impulses in our brains result in our feelings of subjective experience. Descartes’s (1596-1650) theory arose at a time when science and religion were in potential conflict, which was resolved by his claim of dualism. Whilst we followed his logic, we did not agree with his conclusion.

Consciousness makes sense from a biological point of view for survival as it gives us empathy and teamwork. If the brain is damaged e.g. by a stroke, the mind is also affected. We noted the impact that hormones have on our actions and also how athletes manifest a strong sense of self-belief. We debated whether we could experience complex abstract thoughts without words or if language physically constructs our conscious framework.

Physics traditionally says that physical energy in the universe can’t be added to or extracted from. Following this, there is no such thing as nonphysical energy from the mind to direct the body. The theory of epiphenomenalism arose from this, being the idea that physical brain states cause mental feelings but mental properties don’t cause physical movement. However, while there are some forms of energy e.g. in quantum physics, that are not understood, we thought this theory contradicts our experience of having intentions and feelings which direct our bodies.