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A Unified Theory of Mind-Brain Relationship: Is It Possible?

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A Unified Theory of Mind-Brain Relationship: Is It Possible? Open Journal of Philosophy 2013. Vol.3, No.4, 443-450 Published Online November 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojpp) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2013.34065 A Unified Theory of Mind-Brain Relationship: Is It Possible? Shashidhar Belbase College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA Email: [email protected], [email protected] Received May 11th, 2013; revised June 11th, 2013; accepted June 18th, 2013 Copyright © 2013 Shashidhar Belbase. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The mind-body relationship has vexed philosophers of mind for quite a long time. Different theories of mind have offered different points of view about the interaction between the two, but none of them seem free of ambiguities and questions. This paper attempts to use a mathematical model for mind-body rela- tionship. The model may generate some questions to think about this relationship from the viewpoint of operator theory. Keywords: Philosophy of Mind; Unified Theory of Mind; Operator Theory Introduction non-physical. According to this theory, the mind is non-physi- cal, mental substance and the body is physical, corporeal sub- This paper argues for possibility of a mathematical model of stance. The body and mind exist separately and have distinct operator theory of mind-body relationship as a unified theory of features with distinct properties (Robinson, 2012). Therefore, mind. At first, I would like to briefly review the existing theo- “dualism assumes two fundamental, non-reducible, realities: ries of mind-body interrelation. Different theories of mind (e.g., mind and bodies, together with some possible associations be- materialism, dualism, and idealism) have their points of views tween them” (Marchal, 2013: p. 2). about correspondence between mind and body. There have There are basically two kinds of dualism: substance dualism been different points of views offered regarding the mind-body relationship. Then, I would like to argue in favor of a mathe- and property dualism. Substance dualism considers mental and matical model of a functional operator between mental states physical substances as two distinct substances, mental and phy- and brain states. Finally, I would like to discuss a quantum sical. Property dualism considers mental and physical proper- operator which is possible between mind-brain functional in- ties as two distinct kinds of properties in relation to mind and terfaces. body. Substance dualists claim that mind is non-physical sub- Philosophers have attempted to give a coherent view of the stance that does not have space extension whereas body con- mind-body relationship; however, it seems that none of these sists of physical substance that has space extension. Rene Des- endeavors has succeeded in offering a unified explication of cartes defended this form of dualism and hence it is also known this thorny relationship. We need to look no further than a as Cartesian dualism. Property dualists claim that there is only broad outline of the four main theories so far expounded under one kind of substance, that is physical or material substance but the categories of monism and dualism to recognize the failure these substances have two kinds of properties, one is physical to provide a unified view (Cf. Anderson, 2003). First, Arm- properties and the other is mental properties (Howard, 2012). strong (1993) has argued for a materialistic theory of the mind, Third, other philosophers, such as Kant, Berkeley, and Hegel, which maintains that the mind can be explained in terms of a have emphasized the supremacy of mind over material sub- universal material law. Thinking, reasoning, believing, remem- stance. Call this, broadly speaking: “idealism”. According to bering, perceiving, and understanding, general capacities of the this view, there is no other realm except the mental realm. On mind, are nothing but the workings of universal material law. some naive accounts, there is no mind-independent reality. Some philosophers (e.g., Ward, 1894) have organized this law Everything in the world can be viewed as one’s mental con- in two distinct forms of organization: chemical organization struct. Proponents of idealism believe in the sovereignty of and biological organization, which are fundamentally based on mind over physical objects (Heil, 2000). Idealism concludes interactions and organizations among different material sub- that “primitive reality is mental” (Marchal, 2013: p. 2). stances. The materialistic theory of mind assumes that mental Fourth and finally, there is the view that suggests neither the states are reducible to physical states (Robinson, 2012), i.e., mind nor the body exists. If the two do not exist, then there is monism, and concludes that “primitive reality is material” no need to worry about whether the two interact. What we con- (Marchal, 2013: p. 2). strue to be either mental or physical is mere illusion. It con- Second, some philosophers, perhaps Rene Descartes most cludes that “the primitive reality is neither material nor mental” famously among them, have argued that the mind and body are (Marchal, 2013: p. 2). Call this: “nihilism”. two separate substances, i.e., dualism. Cartesian dualism as- Hence, the four points of view concern the ontology of mind sumes that mind and body cannot be explained in terms of a and the mind-body relationship. Whereas the four predominant universal material law because the mind is non-corporeal and theories of mind have attempted to provide an argument show- Open Access 443 S. BELBASE ing how the mind and body interact, very few people have fo- will also be transformed, and may be profoundly enhanced by cused upon the relationship itself. The four views have not reason of the more accurate and penetrating framework it will given us any reason to believe that we ought to be in the busi- have to work with—just as the astronomer’s perception of the ness of discussing the interaction if we have not understood night sky is much enhanced by the detailed knowledge of mod- what the status of this so-called “relationship” is. ern astronomical theory that he or she possesses (Churchland, In this context, I would like to briefly discuss the correspon- 1988: pp. 44-45). dence of mind-body relationship in different philosophical do- Churchland has claimed that our conception of mental states, mains. Then discuss eliminative materialism and why this the- such as beliefs, desires, fears, pains, joys, emotions, and attitudes, ory failed to explicate bidirectional correspondence of mind- must be re-conceived. We must eliminate such folk-psycho- body interaction. As alternative to this view, I propose a mathe- logical talk in favor of a more precise alternative derived from a matical model of mind-brain function space and operators in discussion of neuro-physiological changes. There is no such thing the space. I argue that such mathematical model at a basic level as private introspection or separate mental phenomena beyond can help us to understand mind-body interaction. The model is brain function (Churchland, 1989; Lycan & Pappas, 1972). not an effort to solve mind-body problem, but to provide an The Churchlands’ eliminative materialism may be considered alternate approach to look at the problem. hyper-reductive, in that, atoms, molecules, and neurons play a significant part in the theory of mind (Cf. Bickle, 1997). It is to Correspondence of Mental and Brain States recognize that “Humans, like everything else in the universe, were at bottom just organized assemblies of atoms, although the Now I would like to discuss how major philosophical schools organization was neither understood nor assumed to be simple” view the correspondence between mental and physical states. (p. 240). According to this view, our body is simply an organi- This can be interpreted in different ways in dualism and mo- zation of atoms. This kind of materialistic theory of mind as- nism. Substance dualism claims that mental and physical states sumes that a living system can be continuously reduced into are independent of each other and hence there is no direct cor- smaller sections (e.g., bodies into systems, systems into organs, respondence between these two states. Property dualists view organs into tissues, tissues into cells, cells into organelles, or- that there is bidirectional correspondence between mind and ganelles into complex molecules such as DNA and RNA). Ul- body. However, epiphenomenalism rejects the bidirectional timately, on this view, a theory of mind is reduced to a theory correspondence. This view claims that mental states are causal of brain and the molecules or neurons that make it up. effect of brain states whereas there is no effect of mental states Eliminative materialism could not explicate the mind-body on brain states. Leibniz’s view about mind-body relationship is interaction in the sense that it failed to provide logic to how not based on causal relationship, but it is a non-causal corre- mind is reduced to body or how bodies (material substances) spondence between the two (Kulstad & Carlin, 2008). organized to form mental states or properties. Eliminating a Functionalism, a version of materialism, claims that mental mental state as a part of folk psychology does not resolve the and brain states have causal correspondence. This view com- issue. If we bring consciousness in relation to mental state, pares the mind-body interaction with functioning of a computer. eliminative materialism has not clarified how the neurons give Within this view mind-body relationship can be understood in rise to consciousness and how the consciousness give rise to terms of their functional interaction as input, process, and out- mental states with beliefs and desires. It is not yet clear why come (Block, 1980). The recent version of materialism, elimi- other theories of mind be eliminated before neuroscience itself native materialism, does not accept the bidirectional corre- provides a convincing explanation for sophisticated mind-body spondence between mental and brain states (Feyerabend, 1963).
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