The body and the mind form a joint imperative entity that comprises a human being. Both of them determine the essence of one’s personality. Other than that, they are also mortal. However, it has never been clear whether these notions are separate or are indeed one entity. Several ontologists have provided innumerable arguments, with some claiming that the dyad is one while others insisted that they are separate. This longtime controversy is what eventually generated theories of dualism and monism. Dualism refers to a philosophical theory of two opposing concepts. It was affiliated to Ren? Descartes who maintained that the mind and the body are two independent constituents. Descartes always held a firm opinion about the body is a physical entity while the mind was perceived to be a spiritual entity. According to his understanding, both entities always interacted through the pineal gland. Contrary to Descartes’ concept of dualism is monism, monism theory was instigated by English philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. They sharply disagreed with Descartes’ dualistic theory by maintaining that the mind and the body were indeed one entity and totally inseparable. According to the authors, all human experiences including images, sensations, feelings, and thoughts are physical processes which occur within the brain and the nervous system. Reflecting on the two theories, this essay wholly supports the monist ideology that the mind and the body are ideally one entity. Based on this position, the paper first describes the comparison of conceptualizations of the mind and the manner, in which the mind is studied. In addition, it attempts to address the influence that internal and environmental conditions have on what is recalled in the mind from certain kinds of memory representations. Along with that, it justifies the necessity of the correspondence of one-to-one between specific representations in the mind. This also involves a physicochemical condition that normally occurs in some specific neurons/synapses within the associated brain. Lastly, the essay provides an analysis of the fundamental differences between several representations. These range from visual stimuli to speech stimuli representations. Similarly, the difference between experienced stimuli (instantiated) and the imagined stimuli (uninstantiated) is considered.

Comparison of the Differing Conceptualizations of the Mind and How the Mind Is Studied

There have been several conceptualizations of the mind in the attempts to study it and get a clear picture of what it truly is. The mind has for long been studied in a branch of philosophy known as Philosophy of the Mind. This branch considers mental phenomena such as perception, sensation, belief, thought, intention, desire, memory, purposeful action as well as imaginations. All these phenomena have always been grouped as thoughts and/or experiences. They are features of humankind, though a number of them are also characteristics of animals. The philosophy of mind is basically interested in the nature of the aforementioned phenomena by looking at how they are related to one another as well as to the physical phenomena such as motion.

Apart from philosophy, there are a number of fields that share a common interest in the nature of mind. For instance, in religion, the mind is believed to be connected with several concepts of the soul and eternal life. There are equally considerable overlaps between philosophy and the science of psychology in a number of abstract theories. Whereas psychology studies the mental state of events using scientific experiments, philosophy solely uses thought experiments and reasoned arguments in seeking knowledge about the underlying concepts behind mental phenomena.

Another field that is also highly influenced by the philosophy of mind is artificial intelligence. It is through this field that scientists endeavored to develop computers that have since been mimicking whatever the human mind is capable of doing. Similarly, cognitive science also makes an attempt to integrate the understanding of the mind as it is provided by the three conceptual fields: psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence. All these fields have an ultimate benefit from a detailed study and understanding of the brain, which has of late emerged through neuroscience, in the late 20th century. Assessing the findings in each field, one can believe that the mind and the body are indeed inseparable entities that are compatible with each other in their functions for the common purpose. It is actually fallacious to insist on dualism with regard to this dyad yet there is no one philosopher who has defended the argument and queries as to whether each of them can exist without the other. The mind is a part of the body just like the heart is, and there is no one moment when the two can be independent in their functions. They are complementary in their functions for the common purpose; for this reason, the theory of monism suffices in this study.

The Influence of Internal and Environmental Conditions on What Is Recalled From Certain Kinds of Memory

The internal and environmental conditions that the brain is subjected to, can sometimes trigger processes known as memory distortion. These are processes behind the alleged recovered memories that sometimes may be false memories. The act of remembering or rather recalling something is usually a constructive process that is open to a number of influences. These mostly can create illusions in the memory such that one figure out things that are unrealistic. For instance, remembering horrific circumstances that one may have read from a book can possibly implant false memories in the mind of the reader. In addition, some techniques of questioning, which are suggestive in nature, can also have a strong influence on what is remembered. This usually makes a person remember certain events incorrectly or even remember those events that did not happen. Summarily, the longer the interval between the event as well as the effort to remember is, the more the memory is suggestible. In most cases, attempts to have a recollection of events that would have happened in the distant past may become prone to fabrication. This is what causes people to retrieve false information, especially one’s phone number as well as a false interpretation of the effects of certain phenomena.

In various forms of psychotherapy, hypnotic kinds of suggestions are usually used as a way that helps in memory retrieval. For instance, if people are hypnotized and are advised to go back and “relive” a past event, they will be in the position to remember the event clearly. Nonetheless, research conducted on memory and hypnosis has generally condemned this idea because people who are hypnotized are usually highly suggestible. Therefore, according to studies, their false memories can, in fact, be implanted during the very process of hypnosis. A number of researchers hold a belief that occasional variations in the legal system might have actually led to augmentation of reports of recovered memories. For example, if the person was subjected to sexual abuse while still a child and she or he has remembered the ordeal clearly throughout his or her entire life, in adulthood, this victim cannot pursue the perpetrator by legal means even if he or she may have enough evidence to prove the case. The argument is that the statute of limitation would have expired. However, in case the victim may have lost memory and perhaps claims to have just regained it at the time of the complaint, the law allows for the prosecution of the alleged perpetrator. Thus, in this case, the victim may opt to elect to recover the memory of that particular abuse even though it may never have been forgotten or repressed. Cases of this nature have ever been heard in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s where George Franklin was once convicted of criminal offenses based on recovered memory. Nonetheless, certain convictions were later revoked overruled by the high court. This happened as a result of some psychologists shedding light on the suggestibility and fragility of memory before the appeal sessions.

In other cases, some of the alleged perpetrators sidestepped the suits and sued therapists in turn for implanting false memories in their loved ones. Following this situation, a number of therapists have been convicted in criminal and civil cases for using therapeutic techniques to turn family members against one another. Nevertheless, false memories normally occur although it is impractical to the implant of a traumatic ordeal such as sexual abuse. Possibly, some mild memories of traumatic events can be implanted in young adults, especially if events are said to have taken place in childhood.

Correspondence between a Specific Representation in the Mind and the Brain

The most confounding question in the current study of neurobiology is the relationship between the mind and the brain. Normally, what people know is that the mind is closely related to several aspects of the behavior of the brain but not to the heart. The most mysterious aspect with the mind is the consciousness or the art of being aware of certain situations. This would usually trigger the physicochemical condition in the same specific neurons in the associate brain to produce a certain logical reaction to the condition. This often takes place in many forms ranging from pain experience to self-consciousness. Although some philosophers and neuroscientists still hold an assertion that the soul is distinct from the body, most neuroscientists now believe that all aspects of mind, which include consciousness, are more likely to be explainable in a materialistic way as it is the case with the behavior of large sets of interacting neurons/synapses. In fact, a number of scientists have introduced the opinion that consciousness is not a thing but a mere process.

Since the advent of cognitive science in the mid-1950s, psychologists have once more considered mental processes other than merely observing behavior the way the case used to be in the past. Irrespective of these variations, cognitive scientists had till recently overlooked consciousness similar to all neuroscientists. The reason for this is the fact that for long, the problem had been deemed to be more philosophical than psychological. Therefore, it was not possible for neuroscientists to get a grant simply to study consciousness experimentally. Visual theorists unanimously agreed that the difficulty in visual consciousness is basically ill-posed. Normally, the main function of the visual system is to perceive objects together with events in the world around. Notably, the information available to human eyes is never sufficient by itself to allow the brain to make its unique interpretation of the visual world. As such, the brain must use past experience, which aids in interpreting the information that comes into people’s eyes. Visual theorists have proven that the art of seeing is a constructive process, in which the brain is supposed to carry out complex activities such as computations. Through computation, the brain is able to form a symbolic representation of the visual world.

Whatever people see, it always relates to a representation of surfaces. They are directly visible to people in terms of an outline, color, orientation, texture, and movement. In this case, the mind and the brain must work concurrently to make this visualization both material and logical. The mind would often perceive the material, but then, with the help of physic-chemical effects of the brain, the perception is interpreted to denote a logical thing that is known to the mind. This may be a memory or merely a discovery.

Fundamental Differences between Representations From:

Visual Stimuli vs. Those from Speech Stimuli

Visual stimuli representations are those kinds of phenomena that, once seen, arouse interest or cause enthusiasm thus attracting the mind towards them. Here, the eyes would send the signal to the mind, which alerts the brain to generate the required neurons that are necessary to interpret the stimuli into a logical matter. It may be the color of something or the shape. These must only be perceived by the eyes before the mind can make a judgment of what they are. On the other hand, speech stimuli refer to all audio stimuli, which can only be perceived with the help of the sense of hearing. Once the ears catch the sound, the mind is able to communicate with the brain instantly so as the interpretation can be done. Eventually, the mind is able to conclude whether the sound was associated with danger, warning, emergency or joy. This means that the mind will also have to recall events that were associated with such audio in order to interpret correctly.

Experienced Stimuli (Instantiated) vs. Imagined Stimuli (Uninstantiated)

Experienced or instantiated stimuli are those representations that the mind may have already come across and, therefore, have the memory of them. Usually, recognizing them is not as hard as compared to uninstantiated stimuli. For instance, if a person has ever tasted pizza, the mind would not have it rough to recognize pizza and even its taste, texture and so on. In the event that the person has never come across the representation, the mind would only engage in imaginations. During the process of imaginations, uncertain pictures only shall be formed in the mind about the thing in question. This will base on the description made about the stimuli, which may sometimes be closer to reality or otherwise. An example of uninstantiated stimuli is a promise to tour a place that one has never been and not even has had a look at it in the picture. The mind will definitely conceive a certain picture concerning this place in terms of distance, physical structures, the reception of the natives, among others. These faculties may sometimes come true and sometimes may be totally opposite to the expectations. Nonetheless, the mind would have done its part at least in identifying whatever the eyes of the ears would have heard. 

It is pertinent to acknowledge that the mind and the body are inseparable entities, which function concurrently for common purposes. In the absence of the mind, the body would be useless and functionless. Similarly, without the body, the mind would not be perceived to be existent. Since none of the two exists without one another, it is enough to infer that they are indeed one entity. The theory of monism suffices to convince the contemporaries in regard to this confounding subject. In fact, the latest invention of the computer can proof the logic of this theory. The computer system is an example of artificial intelligence, which is one of the conceptualizations of the mind. Similar to a human being, the system also has tangible and intangible parts, but all must work together to execute common roles. The body can be likened to the physical parts, which are tangible, whereas the mind can be likened to the operating system and all the programs in it, which contain instructions, options, and various functionalities. It is weird to imagine that the peripherals of computer hardware and software can exist separately and still perform common functions. It is not possible that the computer system functions without the operating system. Neither can it be possible that the operating system performs functions without the hardware accessories.

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