[MD] Mystics and Brains

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting Arlo Bensinger <ajb102 at psu.edu>:

> [Platt]
> I'm trying to decide which is the better word to describe the 
> activity of the that big bulb of nerve tissue we call the brain -- 
> "consciousness" or "mind." I like "mind," mostly because it's short 
> and sweet. But, nearly every word is replete with connotations 
> (personal meanings). Like the world "liberal." :-) So I wonder if you 
> use a kind of mental criteria to select just the right words for what 
> you are trying to convey.
> 
> [Arlo]
> You know what I'm going to say, don't you? :-)

Actually, I didn't know.

> Like any other metaphor, word selection (and the "net" of subsequent 
> inferences, associations and meanings) is really tied for me to two 
> important tangents.
> 
> First, how well does the metaphor "point to the ____"? For us, 
> individually, this is more an "intuitive" decision. What YOU call it 
> when you're laying on your back and looking at the stars.

How do you distinguish between a metaphorical word and literal word?

> Second, how well does the metaphor serve immediate pragmatic needs? 
> In this case, depending on the situation, it may be advisable to use 
> "mind" at times and "consciousness" at others (and "soul", "spirit", 
> "self", "software", "atman", etc. at others, etc.).
> 
> At times, I personally prefer "Voice". This makes it both social and 
> interactive (dialogic).

In my view consciousness or mind occurs within entities all the way down
to particles below the social level who have no "voice" per se. As for soul or
spirit, I see that as an additional part of being human, as in body-mind-spirit,
or the "I" in answer to the question, "Who is the I that knows me?"

Thanks for your response. 




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