The question of the relationship between the mind and the brain has been presented since the origins of Western culture as a central point in the analysis of the human subject. Over time, several theories have been developed on the subject, some of them still preserved in the current debate. In fact, the development of neuroscience and advances in technological research in recent decades propose new contributions to the study of the mind-brain relationship. The subjective aspects of psychic activity, however, keep the debate about their differences open to various scientific and philosophical perspectives.
In this Psychology-Online article we will delve into the topic to better understand the difference between brain and mind in psychology.
What is the brain
The brain is the main organ of the central nervous system, present in vertebrates and in all animals with bilateral symmetry, including humans. The brain is located inside the skull and is part of the encephalon, a set of structures contained within the braincase.
Similarly, the brain can be defined as the organ derived from the development of the diencephalon and telencephalon vesicles. Likewise, and with the help of the endocrine system, this organ takes care of part of the regulation of vital functions and is the seat of homeostatic adjustments and higher brain functions. The brain activity that is studied by neuroscience gives life to the mind with its superiors and, more generally, to the psyche with its psychic functions, studied in the field of psychiatry and psychology.
If you want to know more about how the brain is divided you can read the article.
What is the mind
The term ‘mind’ is commonly used to describe the set of higher functions of the brain and, in particular, those of which one can be subjectively aware to different degrees, such as sensation, thought, intuition, reason, memory, will, etc.
Although many animal species share some of these faculties with us, this term is generally used to refer to human beings. Many of these faculties, traceable at a neurophysiological level in the activity of the brain, shape intelligence as a whole. The term psyche, on the other hand, refers to the mind in its entirety, including the irrational dimension or, in other words, the instincts and the dimension of the deep (unconscious).
The mind in metaphysics
On the other hand, metaphysical connotations have also been added to the use of the term in the technical neurophysiological sense. In this perspective, the mind becomes something divine and this supposed supernatural entity assumes thinking qualities that allude to a superior mind, as was Spinoza’s God.
Differences between the mind and the brain
What is the difference between brain and mind? Below we show you the main differences between the mind and the brain:
1. Definition
The study of the relationship between the mind and the brain was facilitated by the increasing diffusion of the term In latin mens and its translation mind in the empiricist current of English philosophy. From a lexical point of view, the terms brain and mind are considered practically synonymous.
However, while the meaning of the brain is easily identifiable as the physical organ placed in the cranial cavity, the word mind lacks an objective and univocal definition. However, the mind is usually defined as the set of cognitive activities of every living being endowed with consciousness, thought, and language.
2. Location in space
The brain, as a physical organ, has location properties in space and is attributable to subcomponents, according to the classical concepts of physics.
The mind, on the other hand space-time parameters cannot be applied of physics or theories developed in the field of mathematics.
3. Distinction between levels of analysis
The relationship between the mind and the brain can be established from the point of view of a distinction between levels of analysis. On the one hand, the level of analysis of the brain processes and phenomena studied by neurosciences and, on the other, the level of the mental processes that are the object of study in psychology.
4. Philosophical distinction
The Philosophers and psychologists remain divided about the nature of the mind. Some of them, starting from the so-called substantial or essentialist perspective, maintain that the mind is an entity in itself, probably with its own functional basis in the brain, but essentially different from it. That is, they consider it an autonomous existence and, as such, an object of research.
This perspective, established by Plato, was later assumed within Christian thought and radicalized by Descartes.
5. Neurophysiology
Modern neurophysiology identifies mental faculties as functions that can involve numerous areas of the brain. In this way, although it is true that the cerebral cortex is where the highest faculties reside, other more internal parts are also involved, such as the amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus or hippocampus, as well as those cortical elements detectable in the frontal cortex. , parietal cortex, temporal cortex or occipital cortex.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Viggiano, M. P. (2021). The rapport of the mind and the cervello: a continuous ricerca. Recovered from: https://www.psicologiacontemporanea.it/blog/il-rapporto-tra-mente-e-cervello-una-ricerca-continua/