Personal Identity and Mind Essay

From the Latin word duo, or two, dualism seeks to explain the relationship mingled with the mind and body. Put simply, it purports that mind and body are categorically distinct and come apart from each other and, thus, can not be reduced to each other in any way. In point to understand this theory better, we take into account all the external stimuli received by our sensory organs that bring about changes in our noetic area. As a result, our body starts to feel sensation/s. tone of voice that whenever our bodies feel sensation, be it pleasant or unpleasant, it drives it to move or act in a authorized way.For instance, we crave for fried chicken and suddenly smell the aroma of fried chicken wafting through the air, and judge the cracklings of chicken being fried. Suppose, this dish is served to you, your body then starts to move towards the dish and start eating. It appears therefore, that there is interaction between mind and body in such a way that physiologic events caus e mental events and mental events cause physical events. In the case of Captain Picard, regardless of the fact that his body and thinkers were good exact replicas of his previous self, his mind and body are still considered as two distinct and separate entities.His body or physical state will function in a way that whitethorn interact with hid mind but will still remain its distinction as separate entities. This is the competition of property dualism, which claims that although there may not be a distinction in substance, mental and physical properties are still categorically distinct, and not reducible to each other. Captain Picards mind state will change upon receiving external stimuli and from there, his body will start to feel sensation that will spine it to act in a certain way. Yet, both are separate entities.According to mind- wizard identity theory, Picards mental states are each identical to his brain states. What does this mean? How would the identity theorist respond to the logical argument you provided for dualism? In contrast to dualism, the mind-brain identity theory asserts that mental states are identical with brain states. The theory tho asserts that for every mental state, there is a brain-state with which it is identical. For instance, every pain event is identical with the C-fibers firing. (Mind-brain individuality surmisal)The same article attempts to explain this theory further by providing details about the physiological functions of the brain and relating it to the said theory, thus The main support for mind-brain identity theory is the phenomenon of localization. Mental events appear to be associated with special parts of the brain. Mental activity appears to be localised in identifiable areas of the brain. This is shown by the fact that inhibiting brain activity inhibits mental activity. Those who suffer localized brain damage also have such localized damage to the mind.The most natural explanation of this localization is th at the mind is the brain. Captain Picards mind and brain, harmonize to the mind-brain identity theorists, are one and the same thing. Any damage to his brain, therefore, produces damage to the mind also. Works Cited Mind-brain Identity Theory. Philosophy of Mind. Info. 2005. 22 June 2009 Mind Body Dualism Theory. Wikipedia. 2009. 20 June 2009