Examining the Problem

The brain, although being the most complex structure existing on Earth - and perhaps in the Universe - is a well-defined object: it is a material entity located inside the skull, which may be visualized, touched and handled. It is composed of chemical substances, enzymes and hormones which may be measured and analyzed. Its architecture is characterized by neuronal cells, pathways and synapses. Its functioning depends on neurons, which consume oxygen, exchanging chemical substance through their membranes, and maintaining states of electrical polarization interrupted by brief periods of depolarization.

ILLUMINATIONS

For many years now there has been a vibrant discussion among scientists, scholars, philosophers, and medical professionals called The Great Mind/Brain Debate or alternately: The Mind/Brain Dilemma.

At the crux of this argument are several basic questions:

1. Are these two entities one in the same?
2. Where does the brain "end" and the mind begin?
3. Can the mind exist without the brain?

I will seek to illumine this debate through the use of personal experience, obeservation, critical thinking, and citing scholarly research performed by others.

This blog will contain many and varied topics, all of which however, will have at their core how common sense (or the lack thereof) illuminates our understanding of the Mind/Brain Dilemma.