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Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 8:26 pm
by CeT-To
How does dualism explain what happens to your mind when you're sleeping?

God bless

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:59 am
by domokunrox
Its a combination of metaphysics, ontological, and rational epistemology.

You start off with "I think, therefore I exist" and build from there. You don't not stop existing when you sleep and then wake up to your cognitive faculties. Most importantly, you remember that your thoughts are from God and he is not a deceiver by the idea and light of truth of this perfect being. You can then begin to trust your cognitive faculties.

There is the perceiver, the perception, and the act of perceiving. This physical world is ontologically different then your mind and its is an extension of your space.

There you have it, dualism.

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:22 am
by narnia4
Its not a problem because dualism has never denied the physical aspect of the brain or its importance, it merely asserts that there is a non-physical component as well. I would put it in the same category as brain damage changing the mind, the dualist has no issue admitting that. So dualists would explain sleeping in much the same way that a physicalist would.

Is there any specific way that you think that sleeping hurts dualism's case?

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:01 pm
by CeT-To
Right, so the question is what is the immaterial part of the brain, the mind, doing while the body & brain is asleep. Is the mind able to turn off its consciousness?

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:27 am
by narnia4
I think there is a stronger link between consciousness and the physical brain than some think. I don't know that its possible to completely separate the mind from the brain and come up with a list of what the brain takes care of and the mind takes care of. Brain injury, being knocked out, sleeping, all of those things bear that out, its really a symbiotic relationship.

As far as what the mind is doing, its kind of an interesting thought. Sometimes I do wonder exactly what's going on in my mind when I'm sleeping. Sometimes we dream, but other than that how can we know? With the brain in that state you just couldn't say.

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:58 am
by CeT-To
narnia4 wrote:I think there is a stronger link between consciousness and the physical brain than some think. I don't know that its possible to completely separate the mind from the brain and come up with a list of what the brain takes care of and the mind takes care of. Brain injury, being knocked out, sleeping, all of those things bear that out, its really a symbiotic relationship.

As far as what the mind is doing, its kind of an interesting thought. Sometimes I do wonder exactly what's going on in my mind when I'm sleeping. Sometimes we dream, but other than that how can we know? With the brain in that state you just couldn't say.
Hmm yeah the mind is dreaming i guess but that's not for the entirety of your sleep from my knowledge ( which could be wrong).

Re: Dualism and sleeping

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:27 am
by Bill McEnaney
CeT-To wrote:How does dualism explain what happens to your mind when you're sleeping?

God bless
What happens to it then? To me, dreaming is a kind of thinking because reasoning and imagining are kinds of thinking, we create mental pictures when we imagine, and we "see" mental pictures when we dream.