Post-Schna-ulations

The eternal debate

Books and articles have been written, arguments have abounded, and still people still keep having the same old debates over mind and body, mind and soul, monism or dualism...it's getting old. This debate would be far more intersting if something NEW were brought into it, but it all is being boiled down to science versus religion, reason versus faith, truth versus truth.
Take, for example, this article from today's NY Times, entitled The Duel Between Body and Soul.
To the credit of the author, there is one particular point that was made that I agree with:

"I think about sex and this activates such-as-so part of my brain" - as if there are two separate things going on, first the thought and then the brain activity.

He argues that this is dualistic thinking
To constrain myself with a label, I am a monist. My brain, my body, my feelings, my actions are all one in the same. I am not an ensouled body acting upon the world, but a being in relation with the world. I do not cause my brain to become activated, nor does my brain cause me to behave in certain ways. What exists is the act of my behavior, which can be broken down, classified, and explained retrospectively by my thoughts, physiology, environment, etc.
So do I believe in a soul? I believe that's not a valid question. That would imply that the essence of me is a separate entity - my soul - which acts upon and within my body. I don't really agree with separating a person into mind, body, and soul. A person is the sum total of all the experiences, interactions, and moments from past, present, and future (this is an idea beautifully expressed in Salman Rushdie's novel, Midnight's Children).
Yes, I work in a field which studies the brain and behavior. Yes, I recognize that sometimes, to be practical, we have to think of the brain as separate, or behavior as outside of time, in order to begin to understand. However, any conclusions drawn need to be recognized as having limitations, as existing in time and place, and as dynamic.
Therefore, to me, the idea of a soul is just as limited as the idea of a "scientific conclusion". It's a heuristic, a shortcut to understanding and dialogue, which too often becomes a reality or an entity of it's own.

posted by Schna @ 12:50 PM