The mind is the term most commonly used to describe the higher functions of the human brain, particularly those of which humans are subjectively conscious, such as personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. Although other species of animals share some of these mental capacities, the term is usually used only in relation to humans. It is also used in relation to postulated supernatural beings to which human-like qualities are ascribed, as in the expression "the mind of God." Mind - Theories of the min ...

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There are many theories of what the mind is and how it works, dating back to Plato, Aristotle and other Ancient Greek philosophers. Pre-scientific theories, which were rooted in theology, concentrated on the relationship between the mind and the soul, the supposed supernatural or divine essence of the human person. Modern theories, based on a scientific understanding of the brain, see the mind as a phenomenon of psychology, and the term is often used more or less synonymously with consciousness. A slightly less modern theory developed in the late 1940s, Dianetics, pa ...

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Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - Theories of the mind

There are many theories of what the mind is and how it works, dating back to Plato, Aristotle and other Ancient Greek philosophers. Pre-scientific theories, which were rooted in theology, concentrated on the relationship between the mind and the soul, the supposed supernatural or divine essence of the human person. Modern theories, based on a scientific understanding of the brain, see the mind as a phenomenon of psychology, and the term is often used ...

See also:

Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - Theories of the mind

A leading exponent of the substantial view was George Berkeley, an 18th century Anglican bishop and philosopher. Berkeley argued that there is no such thing as matter and what humans see as the material world is nothing but an idea in God's mind, and that therefore the human mind is purely a manifestation of the soul or spirit or similar. This type of belief is also common in certain types of spiritual non-dualistic belief, but outside this field few philosophers take an extreme view today. However, the view that the human mind is of a nature or essence somehow different from, and higher than, ...

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Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind

Both philosophers and psychologists remain divided about the nature of the mind. Some take what is known as the substantial view, and argue that the mind is a single entity, perhaps having its base in the brain but distinct from it and having an autonomous existence. This view ultimately derives from Plato, and was absorbed from him into Christian thought. In its most extreme form, the substantial view merges with the theological view that the mind is an entity wholly separate from the body, in fact a manifestation of the soul, which will survive the b ...

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Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - Nature of the mind

The debate about the nature of the mind is relevant to the development of artificial intelligence. If the mind is indeed a thing separate from or higher than the functioning of the brain, then presumably it will not be possible for any machine, no matter how sophisticated, to duplicate it. If on the other hand the mind is no more than the aggregated functions of the brain, then it will be possible, at least in ...

See also:

Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - Current research