Science and the Soul
Glimpses of the Mind is a captivating article that captures the interest of the reader by combining personal experiences with scientific studies in order to answer the one question that seems to baffle humanity to this day: What is the mind? Is it purely a physical organ that functions through scientific means or is there a soul, a spirit behind it? Arguments and theories are abundant on the issue of the mind. Descartes simply saw it as a nonmaterial thing and he summarized his ideas on consciousness by simply stating: “I think, therefore I am.”
What makes this article interesting is the fact that it talks about research that has been done in order to not only elucidate on how the mind functions, but actually use that research to treat destructive illnesses of the mind such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and drug addiction. According to Descartes, these problems are nonmaterial, but science is heading towards proving Descartes wrong and there is something physical behind every ailment of the mind. Physical suffering can cause memory loss and Post-traumatic stress disorder is a prime example of how severe stress can deeply affect the functions of the mind. A physical ailment may affect a part of the brain that causes an individual to lose some of his/her brain’s functions. He may be able to remember everything in the past, but he may not be able to gather new memories. Imagine being lost in the past, not being able to form a future?
The fact that scientific research is proving that there’s a physical explanation to every ailment of the mind doesn’t discount the theory that there might in fact be something behind all the physical implications. There might be a consciousness that affects impulses that are then carried on through physical means. There might be, behind all the physical processes, something called a soul.
What makes this article interesting is the fact that it talks about research that has been done in order to not only elucidate on how the mind functions, but actually use that research to treat destructive illnesses of the mind such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and drug addiction. According to Descartes, these problems are nonmaterial, but science is heading towards proving Descartes wrong and there is something physical behind every ailment of the mind. Physical suffering can cause memory loss and Post-traumatic stress disorder is a prime example of how severe stress can deeply affect the functions of the mind. A physical ailment may affect a part of the brain that causes an individual to lose some of his/her brain’s functions. He may be able to remember everything in the past, but he may not be able to gather new memories. Imagine being lost in the past, not being able to form a future?
The fact that scientific research is proving that there’s a physical explanation to every ailment of the mind doesn’t discount the theory that there might in fact be something behind all the physical implications. There might be a consciousness that affects impulses that are then carried on through physical means. There might be, behind all the physical processes, something called a soul.
posted by cricketaddict at 8:16 PM
1 Comments:
Some scientists would argue that Occam's Razor requires us to accept the simplest explanation for things. They'd toss out any explanation that brings in extra factors that aren't necessary to make a conceptual model work.
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