--- In [email protected], Alex Bunard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Do you take a materialistic view of mind? > > It seems so. > > > > Andrew > > I'm not sure what does a 'materialistic view of mind' > mean, so I can only anwer your question in a > roundabout way. > > If by 'materialistic view of mind' you mean that mind > is actually some form of a matter, then no, I do not > advocate that view. > > I was merely commenting from the everyday's point of > view. Common, everyday wisdom teaches us that mind is > evident only where brains are evident. In other words, > people do not perceive the presence of the mind in > objects such as rocks, clouds, plants, celestial > bodies, buildings, bridges, etc. > > So, when we examine the relationship between the mind > and the brain (which was an original question anyway), > we see that the mind is not other than the brain, but > at the same time, it is not the same as the brain. The > mind, being perceived as residing 'in the brain', is > not nevertheless identical with the brain. > > In the Buddhist terms, it is similar to saying that > 'the lion is in the forest'. That statement is true, > of course, but what's not true is that since the lion > is in the forest, the lion is identical with the > forest. > > So, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think I'm > advocating 'materialistic view of mind'. But at the > same time, I think it would be a tought challenge to > prove that the mind is evident outside of its > correlate -- the brain. > > Alex > It's a tough challenge to prove that the brain, or anything else, is evident outside of the mind ;) But what is meant by the word "mind"? The thinking faculty? The experiencing faculty? Memory? Feeling? All of the above? I really don't see why it's necessary to posit a mind at all. Just existential experience. Andrew ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/WwRTUD/SOnJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
