for me the mind / body problem is the question of the relation between
the inside and the outside
inside - as consciousness
the outside - the body
and our particular focus is the brain -
can we regard the brain as the outside of the mind?
yes - we can put up this hypothesis
always understanding that the mind - awareness - is never observed -
it is not out there - on the surface - to be observed
awareness can only be known reflectively
or awareness is - whatever else it is - awareness of awareness - in the first instance
so two kinds of knowledge - knowledge of the inside (awareness of awareness)
and - observational - knowledge - knowledge of the outside -
the outside provides its own knowledge via the senses
still for me the question of how awareness relates to non-awareness
how consciousness relates to the non-conscious
inside / outside - that is a dimensional analysis - is a start
the entity - the person - is two dimensional
the whole here - is two dimensional
the unity is expressed in two dimensions -
in mind - in matter
and this unity - can only be understood dimensionally
can only be successfully described in these terms
this may have been Spinoza's intuition and he then took it to
the universe - to reality - as such - as a whole
that which is - here - let us say the person - for Spinoza substance
or a mode there of
is in itself unknown
this I think is unavoidable
for Spinoza the one thing expressed in two attributes
for me - two dimensions of the one -
and the dimensions are inner and outer
I am not convinced that - for Spinoza there is any internality
and this I think is a major defect of his argument
so - inner and outer
I argue is a real division
that some things in this world - have an inner dimension -
that this is consciousness
can we know how the inner relates to the outer - or visa versa?
they must be two aspects of the one thing -
otherwise there is no unity - no thing to speak of -
is this to argue that inner is co-extensive with outer
perhaps
consciousness - though seems to be a non-extended - point
a focus
a focal point
perhaps awareness here is the tip of the iceberg?
the body as the outside of the mind
the mind as the inside of the body
simple as that
nothing more to it?
the point being that knowledge of the inside - cannot be observed
that knowledge of the outside is not a matter of reflection
my gut feeling is that the relation -
inside and outside - is not something we ever see
it is unknown
or perhaps it is not a question that makes any sense
how does the inside relate to the outside?
they are two dimensions of the one unity
and really it's only the mind-brain identity theorists who want
to deny the internal - and argue for one dimension
at least I think they are committed to such a view
the Cartesians on the other hand mistook dimension for substance
the mind-brain identity theory is - in my terms - an hypothesis of what?
location -
the mind is the brain
this is where you will find it
in my terms it would be to say - the brain is the outside of the mind
still an argument about the location of consciousness
OK
but is consciousness relevant to a theory of how the brain works?
brain theory is really just theory about how the organism functions
is the inside - consciousness - relevant to this?
I wonder -
perhaps the behaviourists are right here
functioning is about how the outside works
how the surface - operates
the fact of the inside - of awareness is just the realm of knowing -
it is awareness of function
the brain is all that it is - does all that it does
awareness is another matter
brain function is a surface function - awareness is an internal
property - the internal property - internality
therefore awareness is not function and furthermore -
function is not awareness
however awareness and function go together -
how?
function is what to awareness?
it is really the primary object of awareness
the surface - that is - is what the mind is aware of
and awareness?
awareness - shows the surface - pictures the function
