What is the relationship between mind & body? Does the mind exist separate from the body?

Monists deny the separation of mind & body. Dualists believe that the mind & body are interacting but distinct entities. Which do you agree with most?

Complete the questionnaire.

Monist Mean ScoreDualist Let’s discuss questions 4, 16, 22

The mind is what the brain does. ~Marvin Minsky …we just don’t understand how it does it. ~Mrs. Sunda (and a lot of other very intelligent people) Cognitive neuroscience- the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition/consciousnesses (including perception, thinking, memory, & language.

DP-The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious & unconscious tracks. 2TM- Consciousness is the tip of the information – processing iceberg. Beneath the surface, unconscious information processing occurs simultaneously on many parallel tracks. Example: When we look at a bird flying, we are consciously aware that it’s a hummingbird, but our sub processing distinguishes the bird’s color, form, movement, & distance.

For complex questions or choices should a person “sleep on it,” before making a decision? Examples?

Outside of awareness, our unconscious mind continues to deliberate & seemingly help us to later arrive at a sudden & often correct decision. Experiment: Choosing the best car: Two groups presented a choice of 4 cars After reading all the information available: Group 1: Assigned to conscious deliberation in 4 minutes (chose now- on the spot) Group 2: Participants were distracted for the 4 minutes by solving mathematical problems Results: Group 1 (conscious decisions) make the best choices BUT… it would benefit the individual to think consciously about simple matters & to delegate thinking about more complex matters to the unconscious. In other words, “GO SLEEP ON IT!”