{"id":1255,"date":"2010-06-20T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2010-06-20T04:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.synapse9.com\/signals\/?p=1255"},"modified":"2010-06-20T00:00:24","modified_gmt":"2010-06-20T04:00:24","slug":"mind-body-problem-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/mind-body-problem-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind body problem revisited\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

In comments on a discussion of \u201ceconomics as if people and the earth mattered\u201d in a NEF blog post\u00a0Clever thinking about how we think<\/a>, Dave Chester offered a concise statement on the scinetific method of reasoning, concluding:<\/em><\/p>\n

The most famous saying which fails this test is \u201cI think therefore I Exist\u201d (Descarte). <\/em>Better to claim that because I exist I can think.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

_______<\/p>\n

Yes, the phrase attributed to Descarte seems to omit whether the word \u201cthink\u201d is referring to the physical processes of thought, or the logic. Those certainly exist in rather different senses at least, since the physical process doesn\u2019t work by logic and the logic can\u2019t work anything unless the person uses the physical processes at their mind\u2019s disposal.<\/p>\n

I think that distinction solves the \u201cmind\/body problem\u201d. Mind can only be pointed to with explanations and body can\u2019t be explained except by being pointed to physically. Try doing otherwise!<\/p>\n

Drinking a glass of water or extending a handshake, for example, are quite easy to do but impossible to explain. Conversely, theories are generally based on some logic that seems easy to explain, but there\u2019s not theory that anyone can possibly \u201cdo\u201d. All we can actually do to imitate theory is act it out by engaging in physical processes the theory can\u2019t explain\u2026 right?<\/p>\n

I think we need both. Or at least I guess that\u2019s my theory.<\/p>\n

++ and then realizing I needed to replace \u201cBut\u201d with \u201cYes\u201d above\u2026 I commented:<\/p>\n

Oops\u2026 I just noticed your summation \u201cBetter to claim that because I exist I can think\u201d is just a simpler way to say what I added.<\/p>\n

That \u201cwhat we think of things isn\u2019t what they are\u201d is an important step, though, toward learning the habit of [pointing] to things as being themselves rather than [referring to them] as being our explanations.<\/p>\n

phil<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In comments on a discussion of \u201ceconomics as if people and the earth mattered\u201d in a NEF blog post\u00a0Clever thinking about how we think, Dave Chester offered a concise statement on the scinetific method of reasoning, concluding: The most famous saying which fails this test is \u201cI think therefore I Exist\u201d (Descarte). Better to claim … Continue reading Mind body problem revisited\u2026<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1255\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}