Posted by finelinebob on August 28, 2006, at 23:04:09
In reply to Biopsychosocial vs Biological Reductionism, posted by Estella on August 28, 2006, at 2:04:03
Mind-body dualism does not need to be "true" for a theory of mind. The fact that we do not understand how neurology and chemistry interact to form "mind" doesn't mean that mind is not a valid model to work with. Particularly with studies that show of brain plasticity (rewiring itself to perform tasks destroyed by damaged neurons), there is a growing body of evidence that suggests childhood "critical periods" aren't the only places where and when environment places a firm stamp on one's mind and it's capabilities or disabilities.
Certainly, science from the time of Bacon and Galileo onward, even from the time of ancient Greeks such as Aristotle, discovered many things about the microscopic world and below without having a clear view of what the "atom" was ... and it you know the root of the word "atom" then you know they had no idea the rabbit hole went even deeper.
As I mentioned on a different thread, a physicist at a recent conference was quoted as say, "The world is not as real as we think it is."
One thing that is clear about mind is that people respond to the perception of truth more than empiricle truth. Even Einstein had trouble accepting quantum mechanics when it was becoming ever more clear that it was our best explanation of "reality". Perception and beliefs trump reality most of the time.
One interesting notion to consider, if you want to lift your consideration of your disorder above a biological reduction to the alchemy/chemistry of psychopharmacology is to consider the views of mind developed in the Soviet Union, where the collective (going ages back beyond the rise of communism) was more important than the individual, is that "mind" exists between people. There is no "mind" within a single person, other than what you might play back as "thought experiments" or relived experiences. Mind is a purely social phenomenon.
poster:finelinebob
thread:680731
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060825/msgs/681053.html