====== Mind/Body Dualism ======


Since the rise of science we've come to see the [[wp>soul|soul]] as a purely religious concept, but it arises naturally from how we perceive the world around us (see [[:books:descartes_baby|Descarte's Baby]]). This [[wp>Mind-body problem|Mind-body problem]] has been debated since the beginning of philosophy. [[wp>Dualism (philosophy of mind)| Dualism]] sees the mind (or soul) as a real thing, distinct from the body.


A major reason why there has been little progress in understanding (until recently) is that how the mind actually works is very different than how it //seems// that our mind works (see [[:analysis:mind:user_interface_analogy|The User Interface Analogy]], [[:analysis:mind:unconscious|Unconscious]]). Mind/body dualism //just makes sense//. [[:books:descartes_baby|Descarte's Baby]] argues that young children instinctively develop an dualistic theory of mind. Why is this? You could say that dualism is the design philosophy of the [[:analysis:mind:user_interface_analogy| user illusion]].


By means of [[:analysis:philosophy:level_confusion|Level Confusion]], dualism has become thoroughly entwined with views about whether mental entities such as thoughts, feelings and intentions are [[:analysis:philosophy:reality| real]] or not. Our mind is implemented by our brain (and body), so cannot exist without it, but mind is an [[:analysis:physical:emergence| emergent property]] which is not nearly as constrained by its physical substrate as traditional arguments have supposed. This ultimate dependence of mind on a real physical substrate [[:analysis:mind:x_proved_real| proves nothing]] about the reality of mental phenomena.


See also [[:analysis:mind:interpreter_theory|The Interpreter Theory]], [[:analysis:mind:intentional_opacity|Intentional Opacity]].


{{tag>philosophy mind body}}


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