the mind

[dl1371]

i was just wondering what atheists think the mind is, i know most religions think that it is like the spirit(which i dont believe in) but what is the mind? I think the mind is an illusion created by complexity of the nerve structure in our brain, and every burst of creativity we have a computer could have too. but reading around this guild ive seen that although everyone doesnt believe in a god, some believe in magic of some sort.  

[MiniSiets]

I think the "mind" is just the product of complex chemical processes taking place in the brain.  

[alteregoivy]

I agree. It's an artifact of complexity and the progression of evolution.

Every phenomenon that has been recorded as an artifact of the human brain can be found in its rudiments in the animal kingdom.

It's been recorded that chimps plan ahead for future emotional states. Many animals use tools. Many animals have fairly complex emotional lives. Not to mention communication. Teaching things to future generations.

The main difference between humans and animals is the ability to think about cause and effect in an abstract manner, without actually having to physically test the outcome. One thing that we can do is test things in our brains before acting out to get the result we want.

Another difference is that, although there are a couple other animals that teach things to their offspring, the human race has it down to an art. When new techniques for things are discovered by other species, it tends to be lost over time because the teaching of it doesn't really spread. Thus, it needs to be discovered over and over again before it catches on.

Humans, on the other hand, teach things to each other like wildfire when someone finds something good, and then build upon that teaching.

However, I don't see that either of these differences indicate anything other than what an increased brain size would produce.  

[Raticiel]

@ altergoivy - You pointed out an important issue: the difference between us and animals. I am all animal lover and I hate when people think they're something else, but there is still one thing bothering me. There's an argument floating for ages that humans have something like self-consciousness (which is because we can think about abstractions, and "I" is an abstraction) and animals don't have it. I heard about the monkey that recognized herself in a mirror (a famous experiment, I don't remember the source for it) and I see animals learning stuff (like my cat seeing I can open the door using a handle learned to jump on it in order to get to the room) but as I recall it's not official that animals know about themselves and can think about themselves... This brings questions.

Still I find this very sad all I am is just a brain. Very sad.