Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do you think the mind is the same as the physical brain, or that the mind is non-physical?
I would assume atheists view the mind as only physical, excluding the supernatural or spiritual. While the religious would say it's non-physical or part of your soul.
I view the mind as a function of the brain. It is the whole of what we call consciousness which includes both conscious and unconscious processes. The conscious and unconscious processes give shape and form to our thoughts and to our physical activity. When the brain dies, these processes shut down similar to when the power supply in a computer burns out and all the computer's other functions cease.
I don't think we know enough to difinitively conclude the human mind is purely physical in operation as we currently understand it.
I'm fascinated with string theory and other similar theories that involve the existence of multiple dimensions. Who's to say our minds don't exist and/or or leave imprints across multiple planes that exist in the same physical space?
I'm not saying it does, but it is way too early to write it all off as just a complex interplay of proteins and electrical impulses that completely vanishes when the organism dies.
It would also explain a lot of "paranormal" activity that science turns a blind eye to, as well as explain why all human cultures throughout history have held a fundamental belief in a higher power and an afterlife of some sort.
Maybe people believe there is more because more is happening in their life experiences.
Yes, it's completely physical and studies of the human brain have revealed which parts of it are involved in various activities such as memory, emotion, controlling motor skills, bodily functions, etc. An injury to the brain that causes permanent damage makes it all too obvious that a non-physical mind isn't going to take over the tasks that the injured brain is no longer able to perform. That's because a non-physical mind does not exist.
It would also explain a lot of "paranormal" activity that science turns a blind eye to, as well as explain why all human cultures throughout history have held a fundamental belief in a higher power and an afterlife of some sort.
I would suspect a combination of at least two things. Humans will see more into things than is really there, we start this at an early age with the boogiemen in the closet and continue it with the god myth. The church has a great financial stake in humans believing the "god myth" and will attempt to perpetuate this mythology to the best of it's ability. The only true supernatural force at work here is Greed. P.T. Barnum had high regard for human gullibility.
This is easily demonstrated by how easily the mind can be changed when the brain is physically affected.
How do you folks think mind-expanding drugs work? Magic?
Nonsense. First . . . there is nothing "physical" . . . it is a product of the molecular vibratory "speed" of our sensory system. Anything with a "faster" vibratory "speed" is sensed as less and less "solid" (liquid, gas, light, infra-red and other EM radiation). Using the "flame" analogy . . . as you alter the combustibles and the other factors that produce the flame . . . it changes the appearance of the flame. That doesn't make the flame equal to the combustibles . . . the flame is still an entirely different energy form. So it is with the "flame" of consciousness.
Both.
Like mankind is both physical and spiritual.
A human body born without a brain can hardly be called a 'living' person, because it has no identity whatsoever.
I could be wrong but I guess that a baby born without a brain can only be born stillborn anyway.
It would also explain a lot of "paranormal" activity that science turns a blind eye to, as well as explain why all human cultures throughout history have held a fundamental belief in a higher power and an afterlife of some sort.
I would suspect a combination of at least two things. Humans will see more into things than is really there, we start this at an early age with the boogiemen in the closet and continue it with the god myth. The church has a great financial stake in humans believing the "god myth" and will attempt to perpetuate this mythology to the best of it's ability. The only true supernatural force at work here is Greed. P.T. Barnum had high regard for human gullibility.
You would think it is all "smoke and mirrors" until you actually see something that shouldn't be there.
I used to think that way until it happened to me. There is more going on that we do not yet understand.
In IT terms, brain is kinda like the software program for the body. Without the software, a computer is useless. Some of us are programmed with very outdated languages. Books, friends, drugs, etc are all a part of this programming. It is all a physical network of neurons.
Last edited by calmdude; 01-11-2010 at 11:35 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In IT terms, brain is kinda like the software program for the body. Without the software, a computer is useless. Some of us are programmed with very outdated languages. Books, friends, drugs, etc are all a part of this programming. It is all a physical network of neurons.
