Term Paper on "Problem Concerning the Relationship of Mind and Body"

Quoted Instructions for "Problem Concerning the Relationship of Mind and Body" Assignment:

The Problem Concerning the Relationship of Mind and Body

Consider the following situation:

Sam and Shelly have been good friends for the last few years. One day as they are crossing Hooper Avenue, Sam is not looking where he is going and gets run down by a cement truck. Shelly is so shocked by what she sees that she drops dead from a massive stroke. But as luck has it (luck?), someone from the OCC psychology department rushes both bodies over to the nearby medical center for a dramatic emergency operation. It seems that although Sam's body was destroyed in the accident, his head was not harmed at all. Since Shelly has a perfectly healthy body it seems that we might be able to save at least one of the two people by putting Sam's brain into Shelly's body. The doctor in charge said that we can do this by removing the upper 30% of Shelly's brain (the damaged part) and grafting Sam's in its place. This way we do not have to attach the whole brain to the spine, and we do not have to worry about matching the male hormones produced by Sam's brain to the female body. All the portions of Shelly's brain responsible for producing female hormones have remained in tact. The only part of her brain that was replaced was the portion responsible for thought, memory and sense of self. The philosophical question that we must now raise is, "Whom did we save?" For the time being, we will call this person *****Smelly,***** (the union of Sam and Shelly). This name is not gender specific. And it does not bias our judgment at the outset in favor of either Sam or Shelly.



This situation is far fetched. But thinking about it forces us to ask questions about what a human being really is. Are we basically minds, as is claimed within the philosophy known as monism/idealism)? Are we basically bodies, as is claimed within the philosophy known as monism/materialism)? Or, are we some sort of mixture of the two, as is claimed within the philosophy known as dualism? If we are a mixture, how can this be, since mind and body are usually defined as very different sorts of things?



Your assignment is to respond to the following question:



"Who is Smelly?"



In order to properly respond to this question, you need to revisit the arguments presented to you by Descartes, Hume and Nietzsche. You have already critically assessed these arguments within the critical thinking exercises.

Are we fundamentally a non-material *****mind***** as Descartes argues? If so, what is the status of our material bodies in forming our sense of personal identity? Do our bodies put us into a world of unknowable illusion, separate from our *****true***** selves? Is "Smelly" really Sam trapped in a woman's body? If so, how could Sam really be male or female since this is a description we apply to the body and not to the mind? If it is Sam, was Sam ever really male, or is that just something we might say about his body but not about him? If you want to say that it is a "man's mind," explain what you mean by this, since the concept of a "mind" is not something with an XY chromosome, testosterone or a penis.

If Descartes***** *****I think, therefore, I am***** argument fails, and the theory of mind/body dualism is untenable, should this lead us to conclude that Smelly really Shelly confused into believing she is Sam? If reality is what we can see, touch, and measure, then perhaps what we are is a material body with a material brain, and nothing more. If Shelly had a massive brain trauma and lost all of her memories, we would say that *****she***** still exists, but that she no longer knows who she really is. Most of us tend to be empiricists, and base our conclusions on the facts we can see before us. Thus we tend to identify people by the bodies we can see, and not by some invisible mental force which is claimed to be *****inside***** the body, even though it is materially invisible. Are we wrong to do this? If not, is this case any different? Don't we have a woman who is deluded into believing that she is a man? We still have a person who has a XX chromosome, ovaries, breasts, etc. If that does not make her a woman than what does?

But on the other hand, Hume has argued that the self does not exist as anything other than an unstable bundle of impressions. Is Hume*****s argument correct? If so, does this mean that Smelly is neither Sam nor Shelly but some new person? If so, is this person a man or a woman? What will happen to Smelly's sense of personal identity as time goes on? Will the male identity gradually be replaced with a female identity? Is our sense of self innate within us, or is it the product of our socialization and nothing more than the product of our material body interacting with other material bodies within a material world?

Finally, Nietzsche has argued that God is dead. And in a godless world, who and what we are, and how we see ourselves, is more a matter of choice, an act of will, then it is the result of discovering any God given essence. Perhaps the idea of a brain transplant is symbolic of the end of God and the age of nihilism. Man plays god. Smelly is his creation! Is Nietzsche on the right track?

What do you think?



Make a written response to this question within a paper that is 1000 to 1500 words long (four to five pages). Focus primarily on Descartes*****, Hume*****s and Nietzsche*****s views on knowledge, reality and the relationship between mind and body. Your essay will not be evaluated on whether I agree with what you are saying. I will be looking at your understanding of the issues, but mostly I will be looking at the amount of depth, development and thoughtfulness that you bring to your answers. I will also look to see that you develop arguments for your judgments and that you avoid as much as you can expressions of dogma and unsupported opinion. To this end, avoid expressions such as "I feel" and "In my opinion." Provide thinking rather than feeling and arguments rather than opinions.