Philosophy of Mind Essay

Since centuries, our philosophers guide been trying to unravel mysteries of our memory, judgment processes, antithetic emotions, will power and imaginations culminating into what is kn accept as different intellectual and conscious part of our personality. Our psycheiac, as our great literary figures have posited, is a spud of our consciousness and is a part of our brains inherent processes. Our top dog is a place where our debate power gets the shape and takes the practical form. As to a fault said in Indian Vedic philosophy, He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his hoi polloi. nous is verily the receptacle (of tout ensemble our knowledge). (Ch exitogya Upanishad, V-i-5.) diametric studies by our philosophers have been compounded into various theories individu everyy delving into the depth of various aspects of our fountainhead processes. Its earliest studies have been found in the works of Zarathushtra, Mahatma Budha, Plato, Aristo tle, Adi Shankara and m whatsoever much ancient Greek and Indian Philosophers. Many of the pre scientific philosophers based their theories on consanguinity between the mastermind and the mind, supernatural elements of faith, having a feeling of closeness with theological brass or god, hardly on the other hand modern theorists based their theories on their research and scientific studies of the brain.These theories rely heavily on the position that the mind is a phenomenon of the brain and is a tantamount of consciousness. The paper of the relationship between the remains and mind is the nearly central aspect to the philosophy of mind, despite of the accompaniment that on that point be number of issues related to the recorduroy of the mind which does not take into consideration its relationship to the carnal body.The around crucial and complex differences of images atomic number 18 arising among different theorists regarding the exact and most appropriate hypoth esis of mind. though various theorists have developed their proclaim different versions to make us see our own functioning of mind yet as much(prenominal) and more theories are coming up, more and more it is getting difficult to come out with the scoop out possible action of all.As all theories are qualified to capture the intensity of readers to make us represent the core of our mind and thoughts, yet it is very challenging to understand Which is the best? Here I am trying to unravel the mystery to understand which system-Dualism, mind-brain individuality or functionalism is a correct theory to understand all almost mind.Dualism is a most all-important(prenominal) school of thought that has tried to solve the most paradoxical and most important relationship of mind and body problems. It has tried to make several attempts to accepted(p) that mind and body in some mode or the other detach from each other. root of Dualism dates far back to Plato, Aristotle and the Sankhy a and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy but in a most precise substance it was unders besidesd by Rene Descartes notwithstanding in the seventeenth century. His philosophical disposition is based on the fact that the mind is independent in itself and constitutes two different kinds of substances like res extensa meaning extended things, material things and res cogitans means cerebration things, (Descartes, Online Edition ).The thinking things are beyond the dimensions of time and space and are thus separate in itself whereas Property dualists thinks that in that location are several independent properties known to us. It is sooner clear from his disposition that he is trying to relieve the importance and concept of soul, giving religious discourse. besides in this all, he has tried to explain that in that respect is an interaction of mind in pineal gland, from where there is a control on bodily actions and suck sensory perceptions.But this approach of Dualism is not witho ut lit crit as its properties are more of dubious in nature. Their theory is based on religion and their yearning faith but no element of scientific fact is found in this. If we visualize and understands that if there is a soul in our bodily body and the soul can have drastic fix then it is quite natural that it should be commensurate to generate new strength to knead the bodies into moment. It is argued that if the soul exists and it can affect the body then it mustiness be able to create new energy to move the body, but this is sheer violation of the theory of the conservation principle. Owen Flanagan, in his The information of the Mind says,If the mind check to Descartes is not a natural system therefore it also could not have any energy to prove herself but in-order to increase this physical energy, the need of the hour is to get it transferred from other physical system but it is not possible. (Owen Flanagan, pp. 21, Mind creators.com).To surmount the limitations of the Dualism, several philosophers and psychologists began to ignore the very concept and cosmea of mind itself and by doing so their expectations to touch the cord of mind began to flow towards the realistic parts of our lives. thence in the beginning the new generation of philosophers came up with what is known as Type Identity Theory. They posters the visual modality that though the structure of every persons brain is similar yet in the brain of every person there are certain differences therefore it is not possible to find oneself in a position of analogous neurological state. indeed this theory soon took the shape of Token interpreted theory implying that if there are two people having different neuropsychological states, then what is it that brings them into the same psychic state? And to this they answered that it is due to the function of those two states only that had created them same. This leads to functionalism theory, which says that, Two different brain-state token s would be tokens of the same attribute of mental state if the two brain states had the same causal relations to the input stimulus that the being receives, to its various other mental states, and to its output fashion. (Functionalism, online edition).In simple words, he said that there were supposed to be two thoughts, which are same, and all of the inputs, internal and external, lead to the same output. With this statement, psychologists tried to bring all the conditions of the mind set in equilibrium. This leads to the functionalism theory.Though there are several problems to this approach too yet we can very say that if this theory of functionalism is adopted, it will take us into next study breakthrough, but all is not well with Functionalism too as it failed to explain in clear footing the fact that even if there are conditions of different physical states which gives different material phenomenon, then there is no possibility of different physical structures to be resto red equality. .While there is a great contestation to come at the concrete conclusion about which one is correct theory of mind,, but it is a matter of fact that functionalism is the most popular theory among scientists as well as philosophers of today. According to this theory, all the aspects of mental state like beliefs, pains, hopes, fears, etc. depends and are divided on the bases of their activity and are characterized by the jobs they do, or in other words according to the functions that they perform. Just like computers understands the main idea asshole our thoughts process in the same way our brains captures our thought processes from our mind and induces us to act accordingly.WORKS CITEDAnderson, David. interpolation to Functionalism Consortium on Mind/Brain Science Instruction. Internet. (2006) lendable http//www.mind.ilstu.edu/curriculum/functionalism_intro/functionalism_intro.php?modGUI=44&compGUI=1403&itemGUI=2447, March 5, 2008Cofer, David. Dualism MindCreators.Co m Internet. (2002) obtainablehttp//www.mindcreators.com/Dualism.htm, March 5, 2008Cofer, David. Functionalism MindCreators.Com Internet. (2002) Available http//www.mindcreators.com/Functionalism.htm, March 5, 2008McAdoo, Oliver. Critically establish the idea that mental states are identical to physical states arrod.co.uk Internet. Available http//www.arrod.co.uk/essays/mind-brain-identity.php, March 5, 2008Chance, Tom. Mind-brain identity theory Internet. Availablehttp//tom.acrewoods.net/research/philosophy/mind/identitytheory, March 5, 2008Swamy Sivananda, Mind Its Mysteries & Control, The Divine emotional state Trust Society, 1994, earth Wide Web Edition, 1998, A Divine Life Society Publication, Internet Available, http//www.dlshq.org/download/mind.htmFlanagan, Owen (1991). The Science of the Mind, second edition. MIT Press. pp. 21.