The Mind-Body Problem Essay - 1204 Words

With the number of brain injury cases observed and the continuous advances in neuroscience, this has proven to be strong evidence in supporting materialism. By defining what Cartesian dualists and materialists mean by the ‘brain’, ‘mind’, ‘body’ and ‘soul’, an argument on behalf of Cartesians dualists will be reached, that responds to evidence concerning brain injuries with the claims that the brain is only ‘an instrument of the soul’. This will lead to the conclusion that there is stronger contemporary support for materialism due to neuroscience and that the Cartesian dualism argument as it is, may be wrong. However future neuroscience discoveries could continue to claim significant parts of both theories as wrong, meaning materialism as†¦show more content†¦Looking throughout history, the brain has not always been associated with thought; even today we may associate such feelings as pain from the part of our body in which we were hurt, not as a mental state inside our brain. However when scientists observed brain injury patients they realised that thinking could take place in the brain. One famous example is Gage’s Case ; the calm railroad worker after a freak accident, that damaged the frontal lobes of his brain, turned into an aggressive person who became unrecognisable to his friends and family. Neuroscientists have now discovered with more cases similar to Gage’s that damage to specific regions of the brain can severely affect a person’s mental abilities or personality. Due to these discoveries, many have now considered this as strong evidence for the opposing theory to dualism – materialism which believes that â€Å"mental states are brain states†. Materialists accept the notion that the brain is only a lump of neutrons and that our dreams, beliefs and desires can be reduced to the â€Å"firing of c-fibres†. Paul Churchland, an advocate for the brain injury argument for materialism writes: â€Å"[I]n sum, the neuroscientist can tell us a great deal about the brain about its constitution and the physical laws that govern it; he can already explain much of our behaviour in terms of the physical, chemical and electrical properties of the brain...† Modern-day Cartesian dualists can respond to the materialist’sShow MoreRelatedThe Mind And Body Problem1046 Words   |  5 PagesPatel December 13, 2014 PHILO 1100-091 The Mind and Body Problem The issue of the origins of consciousness has been a problem that has philosophers and scientists alike, puzzled for years. Is it a matter of science? Can it be explained through neurobiological processes or is it just something that simply cannot be reduced to words? Rene Descartes had struggled to explain this problem through his idea of substance dualism. 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