The mind and body connection

Mind and the Body

The relationship between the body and the mind has been an intriguing argument which has fascinated thinkers and philosophers from all over the world from ancient times. Defining and locating consciousness, trying to understand how the mind and the brain influence each other, the manner in which they depend upon the body and viceversa are all arguments which once solved, could help us better understand the human being. The purpose of the present paper is to present the views (regarding the mind-body relationship) of the following thinkers: Rene Descartes, Wilhelm Wundt, Alan Turing and John Searle.

Wondering about the nature of the entities under discussion, Rene Descartes concludes that the body is a non-thinking, extended thing. The mind on the other hand is a thinking and non-extended thing. He uses this argument in order to demonstrate that one could exist independently of the other. However, the fact that they interact is undeniable. Under these circumstances, how can the relationship between them be explained? How does the mind succeed in controling the body and how does the body impact the mind? The philosopher states that the different nature of these things does not prevent them from interacting. However, the relation that they share is not a mechanistic causal one. Since the body is material and the mind is immaterial, the problem of the interactionism between them remains an issue open to debate.

In his writing dated 1950 called "Computing machinery and intelligence," Turing attempts to demonstrate that there is a possibility for machines such as digital computers with a great capacity of storeage to be able to think autonomously. In order to do that, he suggests the imitation game as an instrument and he tries to demolish the most famous nine arguments which suggest that it is impossible for machines to think autonomously. In addition, he makes several considerations about the machines which have the capacity to learn. He suggests that technological improvements and a learning process associated with rewards and punishments can contribute to having machines learn. Under these circumstances, he states, we would be only a step away from having machines with the capacity of autonomous thinking.

John Searle is also interested in the argument. Unlike Turing, he concludes that regardless of the programme which a machine or computer can be given, the obatined result will never come close to the complex entity that is the human mind. Artificial intelligence can exist and it can reach relevant levels of performance, according to the instructions that a human would give it. However, the thinker underlines, there is no possibility for artificial intelligence to come up with thinking acts on its own. Elements such as consciousness, intentionality, subjectivity belong solely to the human intellect and they play a determinant role in "creating" the mind and making the mind influence the body. Mental causation nevertheless remains an open issue.