Brain versus Mind By Logic,A Historically Irresolvable...

Brain versus Mind By Logic,A Historically Irresolvable Debate As computer and neuroscience technology progresses, the perceived role of the human brain grows ever more complex and seemingly more determinant as to what makes a person, a self. Research and development projects in both the fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence add fire to the Mind versus Brain debate. Are the biochemical mechanics of the brain sufficient explanation for human behavior, or is there a â€Å"mind†, distinct from the brain, which harbors free will? In other words, are human thoughts and conscious actions[1] entirely based on science or on purposive cause, calling for unscientific philosophy and/or religion? Whether there is a teleological†¦show more content†¦At rest, or when not excited, the cell has a central shaft, an axon, whose interior is 70mv (millivolts) negative with respect to its exterior.[5] This polarization is due to a transmembrane ion gradient; the exterior medium of the neuron is ten times richer in sodium ions ( ) than th e interior, and the interior is ten times richer in potassium ions ( ).[6] When the neuron is excited, axon permeability to increases and a wave of voltage passes through the axon like a flame along a firecracker fuse. When the voltage, the electrical signal, reaches the posterior end of the neuron, it triggers the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters across a physical gap, known as a synapse, between the neuron and another â€Å"postsynaptic† neuron.[7] That is how signals pass between neurons in the human brain. As to how signals originate, the cell body is believed to generate an electrical impulse, by means unknown.[8] Also unclear is how individual neurons or ganglia might physically interact to form a thought or a conscious action.[9] The belief that interaction between individual neurons or ganglia can form a thought or conscious action is the purely mechanical explanation for human behavior and brain activity and is both radically reductionistic and deterministic. This belief, better