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1.) Discuss the mind-body problem by defining it and stating its specific points. How would you categorize Plato & Aristotle on this specific issue (hint: are they Dualists? Monists?). Describe how the theories of Plato and Aristotle fit along this mind-body issue. Use supplemental material as well as your textbook and lecture notes to support your arguments.


The mind-body problem is such that we have a brain (body) and a consciousness (mind) that are physical and non-physical. How do these physical and non-physical entities interact with each other? Are they related at all? Another aspect of the mind-body problem is the general assumption that we have a consciousness. It seems real, especially when debating the mind-body issue in our own heads. We must have a consciousness of some sort in order to even make this stipulation. There are those that say consciousness is merely an after effect of neural events in the brain (epiphenomenalism) and have touted neurological science as their proof. Is studying the consciousness really just a matter of studying neural events? A major key point in the debate of mind-body is whether mind and body are one, or if they are separate parts. And if they are separate parts, do they work together? If so, then how? The mind-body problem has basically two branches of thought. One branch is of the mind, in the sense of consciousness, studied by theology, philosophy, and psychology. The other branch is of the body which is biologically based. However, within these branches of thought lie many theories to the mind-body problem. Monism is the idea that the mind and the body are one in the same and that they are not separate things. Dualism is the idea that the mind and the body are two different parts with their own different functions. Parallelism is the notion that mind and body are separate but they work parallel to each other. In this theory, mind and body do not interact; they go on about their business...