| Abstract: | What is the relation of mind to body? Are there separate entities called "mind" and "body," or is there only one kind of substance of which they are manifestations. If so, what is that one kind of substance? These are the questions which philosophers have traditionally called the "mind-body problem." I will first review the history of the mind-body problem from Descartes to the present and present the basic stance of each of the major theories. These include: interactionism, occasionalism, parallelism, pre-established harmony, epiphenomenalism, idealism, materialism, the double aspect theory, and functionalism. Following this, I will review the traditional arguments for dualism and then argue that the functionalism of William James and the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty give the strongest insight into the mind-body problem. Finally, I will incorporate the literature of psychotropics as empirical support for the philosophical model. |
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