Understanding the Concept of Mind
Understanding the Concept of Mind
The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality
of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of
external and internal circumstances, and unconscious processes, which can influence an individual
without intention or awareness. The mind plays a central role in most aspects of human life, but its
exact nature is disputed. Some characterizations focus on internal aspects, saying that the mind
transforms information and is not directly accessible to outside observers. Others stress its relation
to outward conduct, understanding mental phenomena as dispositions to engage in observable
behavior.
The mind–body problem is the challenge of explaining the relation between matter and mind.
Traditionally, mind and matter were often thought of as distinct substances that could exist
independently from one another. The dominant philosophical position since the 20th century has
been physicalism, which says that everything is material, meaning that minds are certain aspects or
features of some material objects. The evolutionary history of the mind is tied to the development of
nervous systems, which led to the formation of brains. As brains became more complex, the
number and capacity of mental functions increased with particular brain areas dedicated to specific
mental functions. Individual human minds also develop over time as they learn from experience and
pass through psychological stages in the process of aging. Some people are affected by mental
disorders, in which certain mental capacities do not function as they should.
It is widely accepted that at least some non-human animals have some form of mind, but it is
controversial to which animals this applies. The topic of artificial minds poses similar challenges
and theorists discuss the possibility and consequences of creating them using computers.
The main fields of inquiry studying the mind include psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science,
and philosophy of mind. They tend to focus on different aspects of the mind and employ different
methods of investigation, ranging from empirical observation and neuroimaging to conceptual
analysis and thought experiments. The mind is relevant to many other fields, including
epistemology, anthropology, religion, and education.
Definition
The mind is the totality of psychological phenomena and capacities, encompassing both conscious
and unconscious states. The term mind is sometimes used in a narrow meaning to refer only to
cognitive functions associated with perception, reasoning, awareness, and memory. In a broader
sense, it also includes processes like feeling, motivation, and behavior.[1] The precise definition of
mind is disputed. While it is generally accepted that some non-human animals also have minds,
there is no agreement on where exactly the boundary lies.[2] Despite these disputes, there is wide
agreement that the mind plays a central role in most aspects of human life as the seat of
consciousness, emotions, thoughts, and sense of personal identity.[3] Various fields of inquiry study
the mind; the main ones include psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and philosophy of
mind.[4]
The words psyche and mentality are usually used as synonyms of mind.[5] They are often employed
in overlapping ways with the terms soul, spirit, cognition, intellect, intelligence, and brain, but their
meanings are not exactly the same. Some religions understand the soul as an independent entity
that constitutes the immaterial essence of human beings, is of divine origin, survives bodily death,
and is immortal.[6] The word spirit has various additional meanings not directly associated with
mind, such as a vital principle animating living beings or a supernatural being inhabiting objects or
places.[7] Cognition encompasses certain types of mental processes in which knowledge is
acquired and information is processed.[8] The intellect is one mental capacity responsible for
thought, reasoning, and understanding[9] and is closely related to intelligence as the ability to
acquire, understand, and apply knowledge.[10] The brain is the physical organ responsible for most
or all mental functions.[11]
The modern English word mind originates from the Old English word gemynd, meaning "memory".
This term gave rise to the Middle English words mind(e), münd(e), and mend(e), resulting in a slow
expansion of meaning to cover all mental capacities. The original meaning is preserved in
expressions like call to mind and keep in mind. Cognates include the Old High German gimunt, the
Gothic gamunds, the ancient Greek μένος, the Latin mens, and the Sanskrit manas.[12][a]
Forms
The mind encompasses many phenomena, including perception, memory, thought, imagination,
motivation, emotion, attention, learning, and consciousness.[14] Perception is the process of
interpreting and organizing sensory information to become acquainted with the environment. This
information is acquired through sense organs receptive to various types of physical stimuli, which
correspond to different forms of perception, such as vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The
sensory information received serves as raw data that is filtered and processed to actively constitute
the experience of the world and the objects within it. This complex process underlying perceptual
experience is shaped by many factors, including the individual's past experiences, cultural
background, beliefs, knowledge, and expectations.[15]
Memory is the mechanism of storing and retrieving information.[16] Episodic memory handles
information about specific past events in one's life and makes this information available in the
present. When a person remembers what they had for dinner yesterday, they employ episodic
memory. Semantic memory handles general knowledge about the world that is not tied to any
specific episodes. When a person recalls that the capital of Japan is Tokyo, they usually employ
semantic memory to access this general information without remembering the specific instance
when they learned it. Procedural memory is memory of how to do things, such as riding a bicycle or
playing a musical instrument.[17] Another distinction is between short-term memory, which holds
information for brief periods, usually with the purpose of completing specific cognitive tasks, and
long-term memory, which can store information for extended periods, potentially lasting a
lifetime.[18]
Thinking involves the processing of information and the manipulation of concepts and ideas. It is
goal-oriented and often happens in response to experiences by aiming at making sense of them,
organizing their information, and deciding how to respond.[19] Logical reasoning is a form of
thinking that starts from a set of premises and aims to arrive at a conclusion supported by these
premises. This is the case when deducing that "Socrates is mortal" from the premises "Socrates is a
man" and "all men are mortal".[20] Problem-solving is a closely related process that consists of
several steps, such as identifying a problem, developing a plan to address it, implementing the plan,
and assessing whether it worked.[21] Thinking in the form of decision-making involves considering
possible courses of action to assess which one is the most beneficial.[22] As a symbolic process,
thinking is deeply intertwined with language, and some theorists hold that all thought happens
through the medium of language.[23]
Imagination is a creative process of internally generating mental images, ideas, experiences, and
related phenomena. Unlike perception, it does not directly depend on the stimulation of sensory
organs. Similar to dreaming, these mental constructs are often derived from previous experiences
but can include novel combinations and elements. Imagination happens during daydreaming and
plays a key role in art and literature. Additionally, it can also be used to come up with novel solutions
to real-world problems.[24]
Motivation is an internal state that propels individuals to initiate, continue, or terminate goal-
directed behavior. It is responsible for the formation of intentions to perform actions and affects
what goals someone pursues, how much effort they invest in the activity, and how long they engage
in it.[25] Motivation is affected by emotions, which are temporary experiences of positive or negative
feelings like joy or anger. They are directed at and evaluate specific events, persons, or situations.
They usually come together with certain physiological and behavioral responses.[26]
Attention is an aspect of other mental processes in which mental resources like awareness are
directed towards certain features of experience and away from others. This happens when a driver
focuses on traffic while ignoring billboards on the side of the road. Attention can be controlled
voluntarily in the pursuit of specific goals but can also be diverted involuntarily when a strong
stimulus captures a person's attention.[27] Attention is relevant to learning, which is the ability of the
mind to acquire new information and permanently modify its understanding and behavioral
patterns. Individuals learn by undergoing experiences, which helps them adapt to the
environment.[28]
Other distinctions
Mental states are often divided into qualitative and propositional states. Qualitative states are
experiences of sensory qualities, typically referred to as qualia, like colors, sounds, smells, pains,
itches, and hunger. Propositional states involve an attitude towards a content that can be expressed
by a declarative sentence. When a person believes that it is raining, they have the propositional
attitude of belief towards the content "it is raining". Different types of propositional states are
characterized by different attitudes towards their content. For instance, it is also possible to hope,
fear, desire, or doubt that it is raining.[35][c]
A mental state or process is rational if it is based on good reasons or follows the norms of
rationality. For example, a belief is rational if it relies on strong supporting evidence and a decision
is rational if it follows careful deliberation of all the relevant factors and outcomes. Mental states
are irrational if they fail to adhere to these standards, such as beliefs caused by faulty reasoning,
superstition, or cognitive biases, and decisions that give into temptations against one's best
judgment.[37] Mental states that fall outside the domain of rational evaluation are arational rather
than irrational. There is controversy regarding which mental phenomena lie outside this domain;
suggested examples include sensory impressions, feelings, desires, and involuntary responses.[38]
Another contrast is between dispositional and occurrent mental states. A dispositional state is a
power that is not exercised. If a person believes that cats have whiskers but does not think about
this fact, it is a dispositional belief. By activating the belief to consciously think about it or use it in
other cognitive processes, it becomes occurrent until it is no longer actively considered or used. The
great majority of a person's beliefs are dispositional most of the time.[39]
Faculties and modules
Traditionally, the mind was subdivided into mental faculties understood as capacities to perform
certain functions or bring about certain processes.[40] An influential subdivision in the history of
philosophy was between the faculties of intellect and will.[41] The intellect encompasses mental
phenomena aimed at understanding the world and determining what to believe or what is true; the
will is concerned with practical matters and what is good, reflected in phenomena like desire,
decision-making, and action.[42] The exact number and nature of the mental faculties are disputed.
More fine-grained distinctions divide the intellect into the faculties of understanding and judgment
or add sensibility as an additional faculty responsible for sensory impressions.[43][d]
In contrast to the traditional view, more recent approaches analyze the mind in terms of mental
modules rather than faculties.[46] A mental module is an inborn system of the brain that
automatically performs a particular function within a specific domain without conscious awareness
or effort. In contrast to faculties, the concept of mental modules is normally used to provide a more
limited explanation. It is typically restricted to certain low-level cognitive processes without trying to
explain how they are integrated into higher-level processes such as conscious reasoning.[47][e] Many
low-level cognitive processes responsible for visual perception have this automatic and
unconscious nature. In the case of visual illusions like the Müller-Lyer illusion, the underlying
processes continue their operation and the illusion persists even after a person has become aware
of the illusion, indicating the mechanical and involuntary nature of the process.[49] Other examples
of mental modules concern cognitive processes responsible for language processing and facial
recognition.[50]
Theories of the nature of mind
Theories of the nature of mind aim to determine what all mental states have in common. They seek
to discover the "mark of the mental", that is, the criteria that distinguish mental from non-mental
phenomena.[51] Epistemic criteria say that the unique feature of mental states is how people know
about them. For example, if a person has a toothache, they have direct or non-inferential knowledge
that they are in pain. But they do not have this kind of knowledge about non-mental phenomena
such as the physical causes of the pain, and may have to consult external evidence through visual
inspection or a visit to the dentist. Another feature commonly ascribed to mental states is that they
are private, meaning that others do not have direct access to a person's mental state. As a result,
external observers have to make inferences from other indicators, like the pain behavior of the
person with the toothache. Some philosophers claim that knowledge of some or all mental states is
infallible, for instance, that a person cannot be mistaken about whether they are in pain.[52]
A related view asserts that all mental states are either conscious or accessible to consciousness.
According to this view, when a person actively remembers the fact that the Eiffel Tower is in Paris
then this state is mental because it is part of consciousness. When the person does not think about
it, this belief is still considered a mental state because the person could bring it to consciousness by
thinking about it. This view denies the existence of a "deep unconsciousness", that is, unconscious
mental states that cannot in principle become conscious.[53]
Another theory says that intentionality[f] is the mark of the mental. A state is intentional if it refers to
or represents something. For example, if a person perceives a piano or thinks about it then the
mental state is intentional because it refers to a piano. This view distinguishes between the original
intentionality of mental phenomena and the derivative intentionality of some non-mental
phenomena. According to this view, the ability of words and pictures to refer to things derives from
the fact that they can evoke mental states. In this sense, only mental states have original
intentionality, whereas words and pictures have derivative intentionality since they would not refer if
divorced from linguistic conventions or visual interpretations. Some philosophers disagree that all
mental states are intentional, citing itches, tickles, and pains as possible exceptions.[55]
According to behaviorism, mental states are dispositions to engage in certain publicly observable
behavior as a reaction to particular external stimuli. This view implies that mental phenomena are
not private internal states but are accessible to empirical observation like regular physical
phenomena.[56] Functionalism agrees that mental states do not depend on the exact internal
constitution of the mind and characterizes them instead in regard to their functional role. The
functional role of a mental state is the way it interacts with other phenomena. For example, pain is
often caused by bodily injury and typically leads to pain behavior, like moaning, and a desire to stop
the pain. As a result, injury, pain behavior, and desire are part of the functional role of pain.[57]
Computationalism, a similar theory prominent in cognitive science, defines minds in terms of
cognitions and computations as information processors.[58]
Theories under the umbrella of externalism emphasize the mind's dependency on the environment.
According to this view, mental states and their contents are at least partially determined by external
circumstances.[59] For example, some forms of content externalism hold that it can depend on
external circumstances whether a belief refers to one object or another.[60] The position of
embedded cognition emphasizes that mental processes happen in the context of a physical and
social environments. It examines how this context shapes cognitive activity.[61] The extended mind
thesis states that external circumstances not only influence the mind but are part of it. In this sense,
a diary is part of the mind by helping it store information. Similarly, an electronic calculator is part of
the mind by helping it perform calculations.[62] The closely related view of enactivism holds that
mental processes involve an interaction between organism and environment.[63] A theory from the
field of embodied cognition states that the connection to a body is an essential feature of minds. It
asserts that certain aspects of the body outside the nervous system, like motor capacities, are part
of the mind.[64][g]
Relation to matter
Mind–body problem
The mind–body problem is the difficulty of providing a general explanation of the relationship
between mind and body, for example, of the link between thoughts and brain processes. Despite
their different characteristics, mind and body interact with each other, like when a bodily change
causes mental discomfort or when a limb moves because of an intention.[66] The mind–body
problem came to particular prominence in modern philosophy as a result of Descartes'
metaphysical distinction between mind and body. Earlier philosophers typically did not see mind
and body as contrasting principles.[67][h] Following Descartes' philosophy, minds were often
conceived as substantial entities able to exist on their own. Now they are more commonly seen as
capacities rather than independent entities.[69]
Different approaches toward resolving the mind–body
problem[70]
According to substance dualism, minds or souls exist as independent entities in addition to material
things. This view implies that, at least in principle, minds can exist without bodies.[71] Property
dualism is another view, saying that mind and matter are not independent entities but different
properties that apply to the same individual.[72] Monist views, by contrast, state that reality is made
up of only one kind. According to metaphysical idealists, for instance, everything is mental.[73][i] They
understand material things as mental phenomena, for example, as ideas or perceptions.[75]
According to neutral monists, by contrast, the world is at its most fundamental level neither physical
nor mental but neutral. They see physical and mental concepts as convenient but superficial ways
to describe reality.[76]
The monist view most influential since the 20th century has been physicalism, also referred to as
materialism,[j] which states that everything is physical.[78] According to eliminative physicalism,
there are no mental phenomena, meaning that things like beliefs and desires do not form part of
reality.[79] Reductive physicalists defend a less radical position: they say that mental states exist but
can, at least in principle, be completely described by physics without the need for special sciences
like psychology. For example, behaviorists aim to analyze mental concepts in terms of observable
behavior without resorting to internal mental states.[80] Type identity theory also belongs to
reductive physicalism and says that mental states are the same as brain states.[81] While non-
reductive physicalists agree that everything is physical, they say that mental concepts describe
physical reality on a more abstract level that cannot be articulated by physics.[82] According to
functionalism, mental concepts do not describe the internal constitution of physical substances but
functional roles within a system.[83] One consequence of this view is that mind does not depend on
brains but can also be realized by other systems that implement the corresponding functional roles,
possibly also computers.[84] A different approach, found in the tradition of phenomenology, aims to
dissolve the mind–body problem by arguing that it is based on an artificial dichotomy not present in
the phenomenological description of experience.[85]
The hard problem of consciousness is a central aspect of the mind–body problem: it is the
challenge of explaining how physical states can give rise to conscious experience. Its main difficulty
lies in the subjective and qualitative nature of consciousness, which is unlike typical physical
processes. The hard problem of consciousness contrasts with the "easy problems" of explaining
how certain aspects of consciousness function, such as perception, memory, or learning.[86]
Another approach to the relation between mind and matter uses empirical observation to study how
the brain works and which brain areas and processes are associated with specific mental
phenomena.[87] The brain is the central organ of the nervous system and is present in all vertebrates
and the majority of invertebrates. The human brain is of particular complexity and consists of about
86 billion neurons, which communicate with one another via synapses.[88] They form a complex
neural network and cognitive processes emerge from their electrical and chemical interactions.[89]
The human brain is divided into regions that are associated with different functions. The main
regions are the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain.[90] Many biological functions associated with
basic survival are the responsibility of the hindbrain and midbrain. Higher mental functions, ranging
from thoughts to motivation, are primarily localized in the forebrain.[91]
The primary operations of many of the main mental phenomena are located in specific areas of the
forebrain. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions, such as planning, decision-
making, problem-solving, and working memory.[92] The sensory cortex processes and interprets
sensory information, with different subareas dedicated to different senses, like the visual and the
auditory areas. A central function of the hippocampus is the formation and retrieval of long-term
memories. It belongs to the limbic system, which plays a key role in the regulation of emotions
through the amygdala. The motor cortex is responsible for planning, executing, and controlling
voluntary movements. Broca's area is a separate region dedicated to speech production.[93] The
activity of the different areas is additionally influenced by neurotransmitters, which are signaling
molecules that enhance or inhibit different types of neural communication. For example, dopamine
influences motivation and pleasure while serotonin affects mood and appetite.[94]
The close interrelation of brain processes and the mind is seen by the effect that physical changes
of the brain have on the mind. For instance, the consumption of psychoactive drugs, like caffeine,
antidepressants, alcohol, and psychedelics, temporarily affects brain chemistry with diverse effects
on the mind, ranging from increased attention to mood changes, impaired cognitive functions, and
hallucinations.[95] Long-term changes to the brain in the form of neurodegenerative diseases and
brain injuries can lead to permanent alterations in mental functions. Alzheimer's disease in its first
stage deteriorates the hippocampus, reducing the ability to form new memories and recall existing
ones.[96] An often-cited case of the effects of brain injury is Phineas Gage, whose prefrontal cortex
was severely damaged during a work accident when an iron rod pierced through his skull and brain.
Gage survived the accident but his personality and social attitude changed significantly as he
became more impulsive, irritable, and anti-social while showing little regard for social conventions
and an impaired ability to plan and make rational decisions.[97] Not all these changes were
permanent and Gage managed to recover and adapt in some areas.[98]
Development
Evolution
The mind has a long evolutionary history starting with the development of the nervous system and
the brain.[99] While it is generally accepted today that mind is not exclusive to humans and various
non-human animals have some form of mind, there is no consensus at which point exactly the mind
emerged.[100] The evolution of mind is usually explained in terms of natural selection: genetic
variations responsible for new or improved mental capacities, such as better perception or social
dispositions, have an increased chance of being passed on to future generations if they are
beneficial to survival and reproduction.[101]
Minimal forms of information processing are already found in the earliest forms of life 4 to 3.5
billion years ago, like the abilities of bacteria and eukaryotic unicellular organisms to sense the
environment, store this information, and react to it. Nerve cells emerged with the development of
multicellular organisms more than 600 million years ago as a way to process and transmit
information. About 600 to 550 million years ago, an evolutionary bifurcation happened into radially
symmetric organisms[k] with ring-shaped nervous systems or a nerve net, like jellyfish, and
organisms with bilaterally symmetric bodies, whose nervous systems tend to be more centralized.
About 540 million years ago, vertebrates evolved within the group of bilaterally organized
organisms. Vertebrates, like birds and mammals, have a central nervous system including a
complex brain with specialized functions. Invertebrates, like clams and insects, typically either have
no or relatively simple brains.[103] In the course of evolution, the brains of vertebrates tended to grow
and the specialization of different brain areas tended to increase. These developments are closely
related to changes in limb structures, sense organs, and living conditions with a close
correspondence between the size of a brain area and the importance of its function to the
organism.[104] An important step in the evolution of mammals about 200 million years ago was the
development of the neocortex, which is responsible for many higher-order brain functions.[105]
The size of the brain relative to the body further increased with the development of primates, like
monkeys, about 65 million years ago and later with the emergence of the first hominins about 7–5
million years ago.[106] Anatomically modern humans appeared about 300,000 to 200,000 years
ago.[107] Various theories of the evolutionary processes responsible for human intelligence have
been proposed. The social intelligence hypothesis says that the evolution of the human mind was
triggered by the increased importance of social life and its emphasis on mental abilities associated
with empathy, knowledge transfer, and meta-cognition. According to the ecological intelligence
hypothesis, the main value of the increased mental capacities comes from their advantages in
dealing with a complex physical environment through processes like behavioral flexibility, learning,
and tool use. Other suggested mechanisms include the effects of a changed diet with energy-rich
food and general benefits from an increased speed and efficiency of information processing.[108]
Some models propose that another major cognitive shift occurred possibly 50,000 to 40,000 years
ago. Called behavioral modernity, it is associated with the emergence of new or improved mental
abilities, such as technological innovativeness, abstract thinking, the use of symbols, planning, and
social coordination.[109]
Individual
Besides the development of mind in general in the course of history, individual human minds also
develop in the course of their lifetime. Some of the individual changes vary from person to person
as a form of learning from experience, like forming specific memories or acquiring particular
behavioral patterns. Others are more universal developments as psychological stages that all or
most humans go through as they pass through early childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old
age.[110] These developments cover various areas, including intellectual, sensorimotor, linguistic,
emotional, social, and moral developments.[111] Some factors affect the development of mind
before birth, such as nutrition, maternal stress, and exposure to harmful substances like alcohol
during pregnancy.[112]
Early childhood is marked by rapid developments as infants learn voluntary control over their bodies
and interact with their environment on a basic level. Typically after about one year, this covers
abilities like walking, recognizing familiar faces, and producing individual words.[113] On the
emotional and social levels, they develop attachments with their primary caretakers and express
emotions ranging from joy and surprise to fear and anger.[114] An influential theory by Jean Piaget
divides the cognitive development of children into four stages. The sensorimotor stage from birth
until two years is concerned with sensory impressions and motor activities while learning that
objects remain in existence even when not observed. In the preoperational stage until seven years,
children learn to interpret and use symbols in an intuitive manner. They start employing logical
reasoning to physical objects in the concrete operational stage until eleven years and extend this
capacity in the following formal operational stage to abstract ideas, probabilities, and
possibilities.[115] Other important processes shaping the mind in this period are socialization and
enculturation, at first through primary caretakers and later through peers and the schooling
system.[116]
The mind also changes during adulthood but in a less rapid and pronounced manner. Reasoning and
problem-solving skills improve during early and middle adulthood. Some people experience the mid-
life transition as a midlife crisis involving an inner conflict about personal identity, associated with
anxiety, a sense of a lack of accomplishments in life, or an awareness of mortality. Intellectual
faculties tend to decline in later adulthood, specifically the ability to learn complex unfamiliar tasks
and later also the ability to remember. At the same time, people tend to become more inward-
looking and cautious.[118]
Non-human
Animal
It is commonly acknowledged today that animals have some form of mind, but it is controversial to
which animals this applies and how their mind differs from the human mind.[119] Different
conceptions of the mind lead to different responses to this problem. When understood in a very
wide sense as the capacity to process information, the mind is present in all forms of life, including
insects, plants, and individual cells.[120] On the other side of the spectrum are views that deny the
existence of mentality in most or all non-human animals based on the idea that they lack key mental
capacities, like abstract rationality and symbolic language.[121] The status of animal minds is highly
relevant to the field of ethics since it affects the treatment of animals, including the topic of animal
rights.[122]
Discontinuity views state that the minds of non-human animals are fundamentally different from
human minds and often point to higher mental faculties, like thinking, reasoning, and deliberate
decision-making.[123] This outlook is reflected in the traditionally influential position of defining
humans as "rational animals" as opposed to all other animals.[124] Continuity views, by contrast,
emphasize similarities and see cognitive differences in degree rather than kind. Central
considerations for this position are the shared evolutionary origin and organic similarities on the
level of the brain and nervous system. Observable behavior is another key factor, such as problem-
solving skills, animal communication, and reactions to and expressions of pain and pleasure. Of
particular importance are the questions of consciousness and sentience, that is, to what extent non-
human animals have a subjective experience of the world and are capable of suffering and feeling
joy.[125]
Artificial
Some of the difficulties of assessing animal minds are also reflected in the topic of artificial minds.
It includes the question of whether computer systems implementing artificial intelligence should be
considered a form of mind.[126] This idea is consistent with some theories of the nature of mind,
such as functionalism and its claim that mental concepts describe functional roles. It asserts that
the functions implemented by biological brains could in principle also be implemented by artificial
devices.[127]
The Turing test aims to determine whether
a computer can imitate human linguistic
behavior to the degree that it is not
possible to tell the difference between
human and computer.[128]
The Turing test, proposed by Alan Turing (1912–1954), is a traditionally influential procedure to test
artificial intelligence: a person exchanges messages with two parties, one of them a human and the
other a computer. The computer passes the test if it is not possible to reliably tell which party is the
human and which one the computer. While there are computer programs today that may pass the
Turing test, this alone is usually not accepted as conclusive proof of mindedness.[128] For some
aspects of mind, it is controversial whether computers can, in principle, implement them, such as
desires, feelings, consciousness, and free will.[129]
This problem is often discussed through the contrast between weak and strong artificial
intelligence. Weak or narrow artificial intelligence is limited to specific mental capacities or
functions. It focuses on a particular task or a narrow set of tasks, like autonomous driving, speech
recognition, or theorem proving. The goal of strong AI, also termed artificial general intelligence, is to
create a complete artificial person that has all the mental capacities of humans, including
consciousness, emotion, and reason.[130] It is controversial whether strong AI is possible; influential
arguments against it include John Searle's Chinese Room Argument and Hubert Dreyfus's critique
based on Heideggerian philosophy.[131]
Mental health is a state of mind characterized by internal equilibrium and well-being in which mental
capacities function as they should. Some theorists emphasize positive features such as the abilities
of a person to realize their potential, express and modulate emotions, cope with adverse life
situations, and fulfill their social role. Negative definitions, by contrast, see mental health as the
absence of mental disorders.[132] Mental disorders are abnormal patterns of thought, emotion, or
behavior. These patterns deviate not only from how a mental capacity works on average but from
how it should work while usually causing some form of distress. The content of those norms is
controversial and there are differences from culture to culture. For instance, homosexuality was
historically considered a mental disorder by medical professionals, a view which only changed in the
second half of the 20th century.[133]
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is a
mental disorder in which a person follows
compulsive rituals, like excessive hand
washing, to alleviate anxiety caused by
intrusive thoughts.[134]
There is a great variety of mental disorders, each associated with a different form of
malfunctioning. Anxiety disorders involve intense and persistent fear that is disproportionate to the
actual threat and significantly impairs everyday life. An example is social phobia, which involves
irrational fear of certain social situations. Anxiety disorders also include obsessive–compulsive
disorder, for which the anxiety manifests in the form of intrusive thoughts that the person tries to
alleviate by following compulsive rituals.[135] Mood disorders cause intense moods or mood swings
that are inconsistent with the external circumstances and can last for long periods. For instance,
people affected by bipolar disorder experience extreme mood swings between manic states of
euphoria and depressive states of hopelessness.[136] Personality disorders are characterized by
enduring patterns of maladaptive behavior that significantly impair regular life. Paranoid personality
disorder, for example, leads people to be deeply suspicious of the motives of others without rational
basis.[137] Psychotic disorders are among the most severe mental illnesses and involve a distorted
relation to reality in the form of hallucinations and delusions, as seen in schizophrenia.[138] Other
disorders include dissociative disorders and eating disorders.[139]
The biopsychosocial model identifies three types of causes of mental disorders: biological,
cognitive, and environmental factors. Biological factors include bodily causes, in particular
neurological influences and genetic predispositions. On the cognitive level, maladaptive beliefs and
patterns of thought can be responsible. Environmental factors involve cultural influences and social
events that may trigger the onset of a disorder.[140] There are various approaches to treating mental
disorders, and the most suitable treatment usually depends on the type of disorder, its cause, and
the individual's overall condition. Psychotherapeutic methods use personal interaction with a
therapist to change patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.[141] Psychoanalysis aims to help
patients resolve conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious mind.[142] Cognitive
behavioral therapy focuses on conscious mental phenomena to identify and change irrational
beliefs and negative thought patterns.[143] Behavior therapy relies on classical conditioning to
unlearn harmful behaviors.[144] Humanistic therapies try to help people gain insight into their self-
worth and empower them to resolve their problems.[145] Drug therapies use medication to alter the
brain chemistry involved in the disorder through substances like antidepressants, antipsychotics,
mood stabilizers, and anxiolytics.[146]
Various fields of inquiry study the mind, including psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and
cognitive science. They differ from each other in the aspects of mind they investigate and the
methods they employ.[147] The study of the mind poses various problems since it is difficult to
directly examine, manipulate, and measure it. Trying to circumvent this problem by investigating the
brain comes with new challenges of its own, mainly because of the brain's complexity as a neural
network consisting of billions of neurons, each with up to 10,000 links to other neurons.[148]
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. It investigates conscious and unconscious
mental phenomena, including perception, memory, feeling, thought, decision, intelligence, and
personality. It is further interested in their outward manifestation in the form of observable
behavioral patterns, studying how these patterns depend on external circumstances and are shaped
by learning.[149] Psychology is a wide discipline that includes many subfields. Cognitive psychology
is interested in higher-order mental activities like thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, and concept
formation.[150] Biological psychology seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms on the
physiological level and how they depend on genetic transmission and the environment.[151]
Developmental psychology studies the development of the mind from childhood to old age while
social psychology examines the influence of social contexts on mind and behavior.[152] Personality
psychology investigates personality, exploring how characteristic patterns of thought, feeling, and
behavior develop and vary among individuals.[153] Further subfields include comparative, clinical,
educational, occupational, and neuropsychology.[154] As a scientific discipline, psychology emerged
at the end of the 19th century from the experimental work of Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920). Early
schools of thought included structuralism, psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology, functionalism, and
behaviorism.[155]
Psychologists use a great variety of methods to study the mind. Experimental approaches set up a
controlled situation, either in the laboratory or the field, in which they modify independent variables
and measure their effects on dependent variables.[l] This approach makes it possible to identify
causal relations between the variables. For example, to determine whether people with similar
interests (independent variable) are more likely to become friends (dependent variable), participants
in a study could be paired with either similar or dissimilar participants. After giving the pairs time to
interact, it is assessed whether the members of similar pairs have more positive attitudes toward
one another than the members of dissimilar pairs.[157]
Correlational methods examine the strength of association between two variables without
establishing a causal relationship between them.[158] The survey method presents participants with
a list of questions aimed at eliciting information about their mental attitudes, behavior, and other
relevant factors. It analyzes how participants respond to questions and how answers to different
questions correlate with one another.[159] Surveys usually have a large number of participants in
contrast to case studies, which focus on an in-depth examination of a single subject or a small
group of subjects, often to examine rare phenomena or explore new fields.[160] Further methods
include longitudinal studies, naturalistic observation, and phenomenological description of
experience.[161]
Neuroscience
Functional magnetic
resonance imaging is a
neuroimaging technique to
detect brain areas with
increased neural activity
(shown in orange).[162]
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system. Its primary focus is the central nervous system
and the brain in particular, but it also investigates the peripheral nervous system mainly responsible
for connecting the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. Neuroscience examines the
implementation of mental phenomena on a physiological basis, covering various levels of analysis.
On the small scale, it studies the molecular and cellular basis of the mind, dealing with the
constitution of and interaction between individual neurons. On the large scale, it analyzes the
architecture of the brain as a whole and its division into regions with different functions.[163] The
study of the nervous system began in the ancient period and evolved through the centuries,
including anatomical insights through dissections and speculative theories about brain functions.
Neuroscience was recognized as a distinct academic discipline in the 20th century as technological
advances, like the development of neuroimaging techniques, revolutionized the field.[164]
Philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind examines the nature of mental phenomena and their relation to the physical
world. It seeks to understand the "mark of the mental", that is, the features that all mental states
have in common. It further investigates the essence of different types of mental phenomena, such
as beliefs, desires, emotions, intentionality, and consciousness while exploring how they are related
to one another. Philosophy of mind also examines solutions to the mind–body problem, like
dualism, idealism, and physicalism, and assesses arguments for and against them.[166] It asks
whether people have a free will or the ability to choose their actions, and how this ability contrasts
with the idea that everything is determined by preceding causes.[167]
While philosophers of mind also include empirical considerations in their inquiry, they differ from
fields like psychology and neuroscience by giving significantly more emphasis to non-empirical
forms of inquiry. One such method is conceptual analysis, which aims to clarify the meaning of
concepts, like mind and intention, by decomposing them to identify their semantic parts.[169]
Thought experiments are often used to evoke intuitions about abstract theories to assess their
coherence and plausibility. To do so, philosophers imagine a situation relevant to a theory and
employ counterfactual thinking to assess the possible consequences of this theory. Influential
thought experiments include Mary the color scientist, philosophical zombies, and brain in a vat-
scenarios.[170] Because of the subjective nature of the mind, the phenomenological method is also
commonly used to analyze the structure of consciousness by describing experience from the first-
person perspective.[171] The philosophical discussion of the mind has a long history, reaching back
to antiquity. Influential contributions were made by Plato (c. 428–347 BCE), Aristotle (384–322
BCE), René Descartes (1596–1650), David Hume (1711–1776), Immanuel Kant (1724–1804),
William James (1842–1910), and Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976).[172]
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mental representations and processes. It aims to
overcome the challenge of understanding something as complex as the mind by integrating
research from diverse fields ranging from psychology and neuroscience to philosophy, linguistics,
and artificial intelligence. Unlike these disciplines, it is not a unified field but a collaborative effort.
One difficulty in synthesizing their insights is that each of these disciplines explores the mind from a
different perspective and level of abstraction while using different research methods to arrive at its
conclusion.[173] Cognitive science emerged in the second half of the 20th century as researchers
from various disciplines began to examine how mental processes represent the world and
transform information. The field expanded in the 1980s following advances in neuroimaging to
include a biological perspective on how computational processes are implemented by the brain.[174]
The mind is relevant to many fields. In epistemology, the problem of other minds is the challenge of
explaining how it is possible to know that people other than oneself have a mind. The difficulty
arises from the fact that people directly experience their own minds but do not have the same
access to the minds of others. According to a common view, it is necessary to rely on perception to
observe the behavior of others and then infer that they have a mind based on analogical or
abductive reasoning.[178] Closely related to this problem is theory of mind in psychology, which is
the ability to understand that other people possess beliefs, desires, intentions, and feelings that may
differ from one's own.[179]
Anthropology is interested in how different cultures conceptualize the nature of mind and its
relation to the world. These conceptualizations affect the way people understand themselves,
experience illness, and interpret ritualistic practices as attempts to commune with spirits. Some
cultures do not draw a strict boundary between mind and world by allowing that thoughts can pass
directly into the world and manifest as beneficial or harmful forces. For instance, some indigenous
beliefs systems, like traditional beliefs in the Azande culture, hold that angry thoughts can directly
damage another person's crops or make them ill. Other cultures strictly separate the mind from
external reality, seeing it as an internal phenomenon without supernatural powers.[180] Sociology is a
related field concerned with the connections between mind, society, and behavior.[181] Among other
topics, it is interested in the phenomenon of intersubjectivity, which happens when different people
have a shared understanding or experience, meaning that their cognitive perspectives overlap.[182]
The concept of mind plays a central role in various religions. Buddhists say that there is no enduring
self underlying mental activity. They analyze the mind as a stream of constantly changing
experiences characterized by five aspects or "aggregates": material form, feelings, perception,
volition, and consciousness.[183] Hindus, by contrast, affirm the existence of a permanent self. In an
influential analogy, the human mind is compared to a horse-drawn chariot: the horses are the
senses, which lure the sense mind corresponding to the reins through sensual pleasures. The
senses are controlled by the charioteer embodying the intellect while the self is a passenger.[184] In
traditional Christian philosophy, mind and soul are closely intertwined as the immaterial aspect of
humans that may survive bodily death.[185] Islamic thought distinguishes between mind, spirit, heart,
and self as interconnected aspects of the spiritual dimension of humans.[186] Daoism and
Confucianism use the concept of heart-mind as the center of cognitive and emotional life,
encompassing thought, understanding, will, desire, and mood.[187]
Phrenology was a
pseudoscientific attempt to
correlate mental functions to brain
areas.[188]
In the field of education, the minds of students are shaped through the transmission of knowledge,
skills, and character traits as a process of socialization and enculturation. This is achieved through
different teaching methods including the contrast between group work and individual learning and
the use of instructional media.[189] Teacher-centered education positions the teacher as the central
authority controlling the learning process whereas in student-centered education, students have a
more active role in shaping classroom activities.[190] The choice of the most effective method to
develop the minds of the learners is determined by various factors, including the topic and the
learner's age and skill level.[191]
The mind is a frequent subject of pseudoscientific inquiry. Phrenology was an early attempt to
correlate mental functions with specific brain areas. While its central claims about predicting mental
traits by measuring bumps on the skull did not survive scientific scrutiny, the underlying idea that
certain mental functions are localized in particular regions of the brain is now widely accepted.[188]
Parapsychologists seek to discover and study paranormal mental abilities ranging from
clairvoyance to telepathy and telekinesis.[192]
See also
Animal consciousness
Biological naturalism
Conscience
Emergent materialism
Explanatory gap
Ideasthesia
Mental energy
Mind at Large
Neural Darwinism
Outline of thought
References
Notes
a. Not all languages have a word that directly corresponds to the English word mind. For example,
German uses the word Geist, which can mean both 'mind' or 'spirit'.[13]
b. The precise differences between these concepts are disputed. In Freud's psychoanalysis, the
preconscious mind lies outside current awareness but can easily be accessed, whereas the
unconscious mind is further removed from deliberate access. The word subconscious is
sometimes used as a synonym of preconscious.[32]
c. Some mental states, like perceptions and emotions, may have both qualitative and
propositional aspects.[36]
d. Mental faculties also play a central role in the Indian tradition, such as the contrast between
the sense mind (manas) and intellect (buddhi).[44]
e. A different perspective is proposed by the massive modularity hypothesis, which states that
the mind is entirely composed of modules with high-level modules establishing the connection
between low-level modules.[48]
g. More generally, embodied cognition is the study of the effects of bodily phenomena on the
mind. It examines, for example, how certain bodily movements improve or hinder cognitive
performance and how motor capacities affect the development of cognitive abilities.[65]
h. According to Aristotle's hylomorphism, for example, they are complementary principles: the
soul is the form of the body while the body is the matter of the soul.[68]
i. There are other forms of idealism that assert slightly different positions, such as
transcendental idealism and absolute idealism.[74]
j. The two terms are usually treated as synonyms but some theorists distinguish them by holding
that materialism is restricted to matter while physicalism is a wider term that includes
additional physical phenomena, like forces.[77]
Citations
58. Rescorla 2020, Lead Section, § 3. The Classical Computational Theory of Mind
Friedenberg, Silverman & Spivey 2022, pp. 2–3
Bermúdez 2014, pp. 3, 85
63. Rowlands, Lau & Deutsch 2020, § 7. Extended Mind and the 4E Mind
Rowlands 2009, pp. 53–56
64. Rowlands, Lau & Deutsch 2020, § 7. Extended Mind and the 4E Mind
Shapiro & Spaulding 2024, § 2.1 Three Themes of Embodied Cognition
Shapiro 2019, pp. 5, 197–198
65. Cowart, § 2. General Characteristics of Embodied Cognition
Shapiro 2019, pp. 1–3
104. Erulkar & Lentz 2024, § Evolution and Development of the Nervous System
Hatfield 2013, p. 13
105. Aboitiz & Montiel 2007, p. 7 ([Link]
PA7)
Aboitiz & Montiel 2012, pp. 14–15 ([Link]
C&pg=PA14)
Finlay, Innocenti & Scheich 2013, p. 3 ([Link]
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Jerison 2013, pp. 7–8
110. Bernstein & Nash 2006, pp. 171, 202, 342–343, 384
Gross 2020, pp. 171–172, 184
Nairne 2011, pp. 131–132, 240
132. Murphy, Donovan & Smart 2020, pp. 97–99, 103–104, 112
171. Smith 2018, Lead Section, § 1. What Is Phenomenology?, §6. Phenomenology and
Philosophy of Mind
Smith 2013, pp. 335–336 ([Link]
T359)
172. Jaworski 2011, pp. 359, 362, 371
Flanagan 2005, pp. 603–604
Tanney 2022, Lead section
178. Avramides 2023, Lead Section, § 1.4 Perceptual Knowledge of Other Minds
Overgaard 2010, pp. 255–258 ([Link]
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External links
Cognitive science's interdisciplinary nature has significantly contributed to understanding the mind by integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, and artificial intelligence. This collaboration allows a multifaceted exploration of mental processes, providing comprehensive models that account for complex cognitive activities. However, challenges arise from differing methodologies, terminologies, and levels of analysis employed by each discipline, making it difficult to synthesize insights into a unified framework. Overcoming these barriers requires innovative strategies to integrate and reconcile diverse perspectives to advance knowledge effectively .
The evolutionary history of the mind is closely linked to the development of nervous systems, which facilitated the formation of brains. As brains evolved and became more complex, the range and capacity of mental functions expanded significantly. Different regions of the brain became specialized for distinct mental processes, enhancing the organism's ability to adapt and survive by processing information more effectively. This evolutionary trajectory underscores the connection between physical brain development and the enhancement of mental capacities .
The "mark of the mental" seeks to identify features that are exclusive to mental states and separate them from purely physical states in the philosophy of mind. This concept involves identifying characteristics such as consciousness, intentionality, and subjective experience, which are commonly regarded as hallmarks of mental phenomena. Understanding these characteristics helps distinguish between mental and physical properties, informing debates on the nature of consciousness and the mind-body relationship. It is a crucial component in addressing questions about what defines mental states and how they interact with the physical brain and body .
Thought experiments play a crucial role in the philosophy of mind by enabling theorists to explore conceptual issues about mental phenomena in a hypothetical context. They provoke intuitions and assess the coherence and implications of philosophical theories about the mind. One commonly used thought experiment is the "brain in a vat," which questions if a brain artificially stimulated by a computer can distinguish between virtual and actual reality, challenging understandings of perception and consciousness. Through such scenarios, these experiments address abstract questions and consider counterfactual consequences to scrutinize theoretical claims .
Developing artificial minds poses numerous challenges, including replicating human-like consciousness, subjective experience, and intentionality in machines. Ethical concerns arise from the potential creation of autonomous entities with rights and moral standing, leading to questions about accountability and the impact on employment and social structures. Additionally, designing systems capable of understanding and processing information in a human-like manner demands significant technological and theoretical advances. The implications of successfully creating artificial minds include redefining both what it means to be conscious and the boundaries between organic and synthetic life forms .
The problem of "other minds" in epistemology questions how we can know or infer the presence of other conscious minds apart from our own, given that direct access is limited only to one's subjective experiences. This issue is pivotal for understanding interpersonal knowledge and empathy, relying on interpreting behavioral cues and analogical or abductive reasoning to infer others' mental states. It closely relates to the "theory of mind" in psychology, which examines the cognitive ability to attribute distinct beliefs, desires, and emotions to others, facilitating social interaction and communication by understanding perspectives different from one's own .
Philosophical theories tackle the mind-body problem by proposing various explanations for the relationship between mental phenomena and the physical world. Dualism posits that mind and matter are fundamentally different substances, capable of existing independently, impacting discussions on mental causation and consciousness. Idealism suggests that reality is fundamentally mental, contextualizing physical experiences as mental manifestations. Physicalism, the dominant view in contemporary philosophy, asserts that everything is material, including mental states, which are regarded as physical processes or properties of the brain. Each theory offers distinct perspectives on mental phenomena, affecting how we understand consciousness, intentionality, and the potential for artificial minds .
Neuroimaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Electroencephalography (EEG) significantly enhance our understanding of brain functions by providing insights into the underlying neural activity associated with mental processes. PET uses radioactive substances to visualize metabolic changes, helping identify areas activated during specific tasks. EEG measures the electrical activity by recording voltage differences across the scalp, capturing real-time brain responses to stimuli. These methods allow researchers to study brain activity non-invasively, correlate cognitive functions with specific brain regions, and investigate how different conditions like brain damage affect these processes .
Cultural conceptualizations of the mind are highly relevant to anthropology as they shape the understanding of self-identity, consciousness, and the relationship between the mind and the external world. These views influence how societies interpret individual experiences, illnesses, and practices related to mental health and well-being. For instance, some cultures perceive thoughts as capable of influencing the physical world directly, affecting interpretations of mental health conditions and therapeutic approaches. Such cultural perspectives can impact stigma or acceptance of mental disorders, guiding how communities contextualize and address mental health issues .
Cognitive science employs an interdisciplinary approach to study the mind, integrating research from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, linguistics, and artificial intelligence. It views the mind as an information processor, applying computational models to understand how mental processes like perception, memory, and decision-making operate. Key methods include conceptualizing cognitive processes across different levels, from abstract problem-solving algorithms to their physiological implementation in the brain. By analyzing the mind as a complex system of subsystems, cognitive science synthesizes insights from diverse fields, each offering unique methodologies and focus areas, to better understand mental representations and transformations .