Source: Huff Post, by Kelly Bulkeley.
Two kinds of answers have been offered to this riddle. The first claims that the mind is nothing but the brain. Every aspect of mental life can be entirely and completely explained as a product of the physical properties of neural functioning.
The second regards the mind and brain as mutually interdependent in ways that are not adequately explained by a strictly physicalist theory. The complexities of mind-brain interactions require a more dynamic approach to their further investigation.
The first kind of answer might appear to be more scientifically respectable — more rational, more factual, more grounded in empirical research. But is it?
Modern brain research has reignited debate over a central question of philosophy: What is the relationship of body and mind? Specifically, how do the workings of the brain relate to our subjective thoughts, feelings and sense of personal identity? As Nobel Prize-winner Eric Kandel and his colleagues put it in their textbook, “Principles of Neural Science,” “We are dealing here with biology’s deepest riddle: the neural representation of consciousness and self-awareness.”
A great deal of information above and I’m still a long way from getting up to speed. Cheers for discussing!