mind/body problem

n. A concept extensively debated by the rationalist philosophers of the 17th century which became central to Descartes,s theory of dualism: the separation of the soul/mind from the corporeal body. Today, the concept is revised as the mind/brain problem, since the brain is now recognized as the cognitive center of the body. At one pole, the monistic view is of one physical structure for the brain and mind, versus a dualistic nonphysical entity, the mind, separate from the physical entity of the brain. Most academic and research psychologists adopt an identity position: mental/psycho- logical processes and brain/neural processes are identical, being merely differing and compatible approaches to the same phenomenon. In other words, mind is an aspect of the activity of the brain. Most of the issues in the resolution of this problem are concerned with levels of consciousness or awareness. The central questions for an academic psychologist are How does consciousness arise from the neural activity of the brain? Or, simply, what is consciousness? The central questions of the mind/body problem for the psychological practitioner are How do mind and body interrelate in health and in sickness? How can cognitive and/or psychological intervention aid in the process of healing, or assist in the maintenance of wellness?

- VS