I'm just not sure we can talk intelligently about this, because we can't experience anything about our minds when the mind isn't working away full blast. So, when you say "what is the mind without its content" what do you even mean? — Bitter Crank
So lets focus on the immaterial aspect of the mind, we have perceptions, we have continuous narrations and self talk, we have a large array of images and sounds but if the mind were absent of all these qualities could we still say there is a mind that is present? — Fumani
Can you not feel conscious without memory? In fact I would think that we would even more conscious without memory.
This might also be the state of death.
— Rich
So in essence the mind cannot perish? In some way the mind is eternal? — Fumani
What is the mind without its contents? What is the mind when it is vacant of thought, perceptions, ideas and concepts? Is it still in existence or is non existent without these properties? — Fumani
I think, from a physical point of view, there is no such thing as a mind if you think it as having an existence independent of the brain. — TheMadFool
When we see an umbrella we think ''sun/rain protection'' but that's just man-made functional attribute. There isn't anything real about ''sun/rain protection''. Similarly, the mind is just a function of the brain. It lacks any real, brain-independent existence. The brain=umbrella and ''sun/rain protection''=the mind — TheMadFool
However, there are n number of possibilities. There could be a mind and it could be independent of the brain but then it begs the question ''how can we engage in meaningful discourse with mere speculation?'' Perhaps we need mystical knowledge. Could there be such a thing? — TheMadFool
but we can always see the physical effects that it has on matter. — Fumani
Or, more logically, mental states are an experience caused by those chemicals.Mental states determine the chemicals that the brain secretes to add resonance to that mental state.
Or, more logically, mental states are an experience caused by those chemicals — bioazer
And your above quote still does not answer the question: how do you "see" the effects of the mind on matter? — bioazer
Another question. Do you believe that a flatworm has a mind? How about a grasshopper? Or an iguana, or a chimpanzee? Or is it only humans? — bioazer
No, I did not. But neurologists have done so hundreds of times.Just because the brain demonstrates physiological changes that match mental states does not mean the brain is creating those mental states. How did you calculate this? Did you measure the brains electrical speed or the speed of the mind?
I'd love to see your sources.Many experiments have been done that have demonstrated the effect the brain has on matter.
So if a flatworm has a mind, does an amoeba? How about a plant? Or a bacteria? Or a virus? Or bovine spongiform encephalopathy? How do you draw a line between what is and is not a "mind"?I believe they do, the mind is not solely reserved for human beings.
I'd love to see your sources. — bioazer
So if a flatworm has a mind, does an amoeba? How about a plant? Or a bacteria? Or a virus? Or bovine spongiform encephalopathy? How do you draw a line between what is and is not a "mind"? — bioazer
I think the question you're asking might be better put as "what is consciousness without its contents?" — gurugeorge
This is bred by the human condition to differentiate things, look can we not agree that mind is an intelligence that assists the organism to navigate its way through existence? — Fumani
Yes.what about the sub conscious? Have neurologists studied the speed of its operations?
That is literally what the linked article is about.Read up on the observer effect. You do know that there is a section in the brain that takes the impression that it received from electrical signals and creates the world that you see?
and[the brain] does not account for experience. Experience is the domain of the mind because experience is immaterial and the contents of the mind are immaterial as well.
I see no evidence of any of these (entirely speculative) claims in the given facts.Just because mental states correlate with the brain it does not mean there is a causation. I would flip the script an say that it is the mind that is senior to the brain. Mental states determine the chemicals that the brain secretes to add resonance to that mental state.
I would say mind is the organism appearing in different subtle form. It is continuous from the most ethereal to the most solid and extends out without a clear boundary. — Rich
[the brain] does not account for experience. Experience is the domain of the mind because experience is immaterial and the contents of the mind are immaterial as well.
Yes. You are correct. The brain processes information and synthesizes conscious experience, in that orde — bioazer
What is the mind without its contents? What is the mind when it is vacant of thought, perceptions, ideas and concepts? Is it still in existence or is non existent without these properties? — Fumani
Okay that makes sense, so are you implying that the mind is not solely linked to organisms? That inanimate objects are capable of possessing a mind? — Fumani
But mind and consciousness can be studied separately, consciousness is a whole other subject. Unless your saying that the mind is just an expression of consciousness? — Fumani
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