Mind-Body Relationship In Psychology: Dualism vs Monism

Materialism is the belief that nothing exists apart from the material world (i.e., physical matter like the brain); materialist psychologists generally agree that consciousness (the mind) is the function of the brain.

Thomas Hobbes (17th c. philosopher who held that everything that exists is body or matter.

All reality (including the mind) is physical. Mental states are brain states or are caused by physical processes​.

Materialism denies any immaterial mind or soul separate from the body.

Mental processes can be identified with purely physical processes in the central nervous system, and human beings are just complicated physiological organisms, no more than that.

For example, reductive materialism posits mental phenomena can be reduced to or identified with physical processes (e.g. the experience of pain just is certain neural firings​).

Eliminative materialism claims that our common concepts of mind (beliefs, desires, etc.) are flawed and will eventually be eliminated in favor of neuroscientific explanations.

In short, materialists argue the mind just is what the brain does.

2. Idealism

This is a less common form of monism.

This view holds that reality is fundamentally mental or spiritual.

The physical world, in this view, is either a construct of the mind or somehow less real than the mental realm.

Reality, as we perceive it, is fundamentally mental or mind-dependent. This means that what we consider the “external world” is, in some way, a product of our minds or consciousness.

Idealism has profound implications for our understanding of:

• Perception: How our minds construct our experience of reality.
• Reality: The very nature of what is “real.”
• Consciousness: The central role of consciousness in shaping our world.

Phenomenalism (also called Subjective Idealism) believes that physical objects and events are reducible to mental objects, properties, and events.

Ultimately, only mental objects (i.e., the mind) exist. Bishop Berkeley claimed that what we think of as our body is merely the perception of the mind. Before you reject this too rapidly, consider the results of a recent study.

Scientists asked three hemiplegics (i.e., loss of movement from one side of the body) stroke victims with damage to the right hemispheres of their brains about their abilities to move their arms.

All three claimed, despite evidence to the contrary in the mirror in front of them, that they could move their right and left hands equally well.

Further, two of the three stroke victims claimed that an experimental stooge who faked paralysis (i.e., lack of movement) of his left arm was able to move his arm satisfactorily.

Objective Idealism

This view suggests that there is an objective, universal mind or consciousness that underlies reality.

Individual minds are seen as manifestations of this larger, cosmic mind.

Implications of Monism

• Mind-Body Relationship: Monism, particularly materialism, suggests a close relationship between mind and brain. Mental states are seen as dependent on or identical to brain states.
• Scientific Approach: Materialism aligns well with the scientific worldview, as it allows for the study of the mind through the investigation of physical processes in the brain.
• Parsimony: Materialism offers a simpler and more parsimonious explanation of reality compared to dualism.
• Evidence: Studies using techniques like fMRI and EEG show specific brain regions activating during particular thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
• Challenges: Some philosophers argue that monism, especially materialism, struggles to account for subjective experience (qualia) and the unique nature of consciousness.

What is Dualism?

Dualism, in the context of the mind-body problem, is the view that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical, or that the mind and body are not identical.

A prominent dualist view is that the mental and the physical are two fundamentally different categories of entities or properties. This position is known as substance dualism.

The most famous example of substance dualism is Cartesian dualism, named after René Descartes, who argued that the mind is a non-physical substance, distinct from the physical substance of the body.

Substance dualism contrasts with monism, which holds that there is only one fundamental kind of substance.

Another form of dualism is property dualism, which holds that mental properties are distinct from and not reducible to physical properties, even if there is only one kind of substance.

Property dualism avoids the problem of explaining how two different substances can interact, but it faces the challenge of explaining how mental properties can have causal efficacy in a world that is fundamentally physical.

Implications of Dualism

Dualism has been influential in the history of philosophy and religion, but it has also been challenged by many philosophers and scientists who argue that it is incompatible with a scientific worldview.

One of the main challenges to dualism is the problem of mental causation, which is the problem of explaining how mental events can cause physical events if the mental and physical are fundamentally different.

Despite these challenges, dualism continues to be a popular view, and it has been defended by many contemporary philosophers.

Some of the main arguments for dualism include the argument from qualia, which is the argument that subjective experiences cannot be reduced to physical properties, and the argument from intentionality, which is the argument that mental states are about something, while physical states are not.

Subjective Experience (Qualia)

• Dualists emphasize the unique and irreducible nature of subjective experiences, often referred to as qualia.
• Qualia are the qualitative aspects of consciousness, such as the redness of red, the feeling of pain, or the taste of chocolate.
• Dualists argue that these subjective experiences cannot be fully captured or explained by purely physical descriptions of brain states.
• They contend that qualia possess a distinctly mental quality that resists reduction to physical properties.

Intentionality

• Intentionality is the “aboutness” of mental states, their ability to represent or be directed at something beyond themselves.
• Dualists point out that mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and intentions, have this representational quality, while physical states do not.
• They argue that intentionality is a unique feature of the mental and cannot be explained in purely physical terms.

Interactionism

Interactionism posits that the mind and body are distinct substances (as in dualism), but they causally interact with one another.

It recognizes that mental states, such as thoughts, emotions, and consciousness, possess qualities that are fundamentally different from the physical properties of matter, such as size, shape, and motion. Yet, it also asserts that these two realms are not isolated but rather intertwined in a causal relationship.

This means that mental events can cause physical events, and physical events can cause mental events.

The mind is non-physical, but it influences the physical brain/body (and receives input from it).

A major challenge for interactionism is the interaction problem.

How can two fundamentally different substances, one physical and one non-physical, causally interact? This has been a source of much philosophical debate.

In the 20th century, Karl Poppere & neurophysiologist John Eccles argued for dualistic interactionism (in The Self and Its Brain, 1977), positing that the mind interacts with brain physiology.

René Descartes is the most famous proponent of interactionist dualism.

He argued that the mind (a non-physical “thinking substance”) and the body (a physical “extended substance”) interact, with this interaction occurring at the pineal gland in the brain.

Critical Evaluation

Intuitive Appeal and Everyday Experience

• Interactionism aligns with our common-sense intuition that our thoughts, feelings, and intentions can influence our actions and that our physical experiences can affect our mental states.
• We experience this interaction daily: a desire (mental) leads to reaching for a glass of water (physical), or a stubbed toe (physical) causes pain (mental).
• This intuitive appeal and alignment with everyday experience provide a degree of support for interactionism.

Placebo Effect and Psychoneuroimmunology

• The placebo effect, where a person’s belief in a treatment can lead to real physiological changes, provides evidence for the mind’s influence on the body.
• Psychoneuroimmunology studies how psychological factors, such as stress and emotions, can affect the immune system, demonstrating a clear interaction between mental states and physical health.
• These findings support the notion that mental events can have tangible effects on the physical body.

Phenomenology and the First-Person Perspective

• Phenomenology, a philosophical approach that focuses on subjective experience, emphasizes the unique and irreducible nature of consciousness.
• From a first-person perspective, it seems undeniable that our thoughts and feelings play a role in shaping our actions and experiences in the world.
• While not empirical evidence in the traditional sense, the phenomenological perspective lends support to the idea that mental states have causal efficacy in the physical world.

The Hard Problem of Consciousness

• The “hard problem of consciousness,” as defined by philosopher David Chalmers, highlights the difficulty of explaining how subjective experience arises from physical processes.
• Some philosophers argue that the inability of purely physicalist explanations to fully account for consciousness leaves room for interactionist perspectives.
• They suggest that the unique qualities of consciousness may require a distinct mental entity that interacts with the physical brain.