Body-mind relationship: an inquiry into the problem of the relationship said to exist between the body and mind

Abstract

To those who have the ability, or take the time to think, there comes an awareness, that we are organisms,seemingly composed of two parts, the thinking, feeling, willing, remembering part, productive of all mental processes - called "mind", and the acting, behaving part, which is seen either as our effectors, enabling us to act in the world, or as our internal organs, functioning to keep the life processes continuing - called "body". On reflection, from experience both past and current, there seems to be some kind of relationship between these two aspects of an organism. The problem of their connection, very much alive since Descartes, has two aspects, (a) how mind and body inter-relate; and (b) what kind of a relationship exists between them. The first side of the problem, “How they are connected”, is claimed for the scientist to solve. Study of it would take us into the fields of biology, physiology and endocrinology, and though in this thesis we do not intend to investigate these fields extensively, we will make use of conclusions and findings of scientists who have experimented in them. In this thesis we will investigate the problem of “what kind of a relationship exists between mind and body”, though it will be later shown that this forces us to enquire further into the manner of their connection.