Exploring the Mind-Body Problem

How are Mental States Related to Brain States?

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The relationship between the mind and the brain is one of the oldest and most fascinating questions in philosophy and science. How do subjective experiences, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and other mental states map onto the physical brain and body?

What is the connection between our inner mental world and the electrochemical processes in our neurons? This is the central question of the mind-body problem.

The Mind-Body Problem Defined

The mind-body problem concerns the exact relationship between mental states and brain states. Some key questions include:

• Are mental states produced by and reducible to neural activity? Or are the mind and brain fundamentally distinct?
• If mental states are physical, how does biology give rise to conscious experiences and abstract thoughts?
• Is the mind just the workings of the brain, or something more?
• Can we fully explain mentality in terms of neural mechanisms alone?
• How does conscious intention translate into physical action?
• How are subjective experiential properties connected to objective physical properties?