Aethari

Just a quick query for you upper fora posters. I was in my one philosophy class last week, and brought up a point to my professor regarding some material in Kant we were discussing, and he responded with the following (approximately):

"Your question hits on the old debate about whether the human mind is really just a biocomputer. That has been thrown around for a long time, but the answer to that is a resounding 'No.'"

This seemed odd to me. He didn't explain why this was the case, saying that the reason was too long and complex to be fit into the course we were in. I can think of lots of reasons why thinking the mind is not a biocomputer is odd, but one popped into my mind most clearly of all:

If humans evolved as science tells us, at what point does some sort of mind *pop* into existence? Or do even single-celled organisms have minds? Do the minds divide with the cells? Moreover, do our metaphysical minds evolve with our physical bodies, or are amoeba-minds the same as human-minds? If they aren't the same, wouldn't that involve some sort of meta-metaphysical realm?

Does the modern philosophy community really feel that the human mind is more than an organic machine, or was he somewhat misrepresenting the facts? (He is the professor famous (or notorious) for his research into telekinesis, telepathy, and the paranormal.) I'll try to talk to him myself later, once I finish all these gawdawful term papers and exams...

~Aethari

Bob K

I can't speak for the entire philosophy community, but I can speak for myself.

On my website, www.bobkwebsite.com, you can find an operational definition of mind at http://www.bobkwebsite.com/opdefmind.html, and other writings concerning the mind, feelings, philosophy and psychology.

Here are some general concepts and principles relevant to the concept of mind:

Mind = Patterns of Brain Activity.

Patterns of Brain Activity = Desires/Fears/Priorities.

Mind = Desires/Fears/Priorities.

Desire = Wanting a person/thing/event.
Fear = Not-wanting a person/thing/event.
Priority = The importance of each desire or fear compared to all other desires and fears.

Physiological desires/fears/priorities are unlearned, inherent in the body.

Psychological desires/fears/priorities are learned, not inherent in the body, and ultimately are based upon the satisfaction of physiological/unlearned desires/fears/priorities.

Feelings = Reactions to realizations of desires/fears.

Feelings develop in a sequence:

1. Desire: _____ (?) [Wanting a person/thing/event.]
2. Realization: _____ (?) [Person/thing/event achieved/not achieved.]
3. Feeling _____ (?) [Reaction to ther realization of the desire.]

Any organism which has desires/fears/priorities has a mind.

The major differences between human minds and other minds is consciousness, which some but not all other minds have, and the degree of human adapatibility, which other minds do not have.

Consciousness enables humans to be aware of their desires/fears/priorities, and in the case of the learned desires/fears/priorities, to change their desires/fears/priorities and thereby to be adaptible.

Consciousness is not known to be attributable to all minds, especially those of the less complex organisms which are genetically distant from humans.

Adaptibility is the hallmark of intelligence. It is not so much what you know but your ability/capacity to use what you know that reveals your intellegence.

Desires/Fears/Priorities cause movement and are therefore the prime causes of human motivation. You don't move unless you have a desire or fear.

Desires produce movement towards desired people/things/events.

Fears produce movement away from feared people/things/events.

Human Causality/Motivation = Desires/Fears/Priorities.

'Hope this is food for thought.