Mind-Body Philosophy

By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Patrick Grim

How is it that our brain creates all the subjective experiences of our lives every single day - the experiences we call reality? That is the mind-body problem. In Mind-Body Philosophy, Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook leads an intellectually exhilarating tour through millennia of philosophy and science addressing one of life's greatest conundrums. But you won't just be a spectator as Dr. Grim engages and encourages each of us to come to our own conclusions. Is the mind part of the body? Or could the body be part of the mind? And if they are separate, what is the mechanism for interaction? This course poses these challenging questions, and more, for philosophers and scientists of all levels.

In this course you'll learn about the many ways in which philosophy, mathematics, psychology, and cutting-edge neuroscience have weighed in on the mind-body problem, all to varying degrees of success. You'll learn how computers and artificial intelligence have challenged our notions of the mind and consciousness and what scientists have learned from our dreams, hallucinations, and experiences under anesthesia. And you'll enjoy the fascinating, creative thought experiments that address knowledge, perception, and consciousness.

What is the answer to the mind-body problem? No one knows...yet. But in Mind-Body Philosophy, Dr. Grim suggests a new method of inquiry that could possibly lead to a solution: a philosophical science of consciousness combining the best that philosophy and science have to offer. But even without an answer, Dr. Grim says, this passionate pursuit of truth is a crucially important enterprise in itself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

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Interesting theories, well written and spoken.

The professor had and interesting take on how our minds work and why. I'll need to listen a few times to absorb it all.

Eye-opening...and brain perplexing.

This is an excellent series of lectures, in which the lecturer presents you with all the info you need to come up with your own educated opinion on one of the most complex problems in history.

Spotlight of Clarity on the Mind-Body Problem

A masterful elucidation of an age old philosophical problem. Narration was excellent making listening easy and enjoyable. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Mind-Body Problem.

Clearly from the materialistic perspective.

What made the experience of listening to Mind-Body Philosophy the most enjoyable?

Hey the best thing about this is it puts forth the best case for a materialist view of the mind as just part of the brain. Unfortunately it is too early to conclude that the mind is just an illusion we have about our brains. This course makes the best effort to come to that conclusion.

What a great lens for examining philosophy and the sciences

This guy does an amazing job of bringing together all sorts of ideas from all sorts of places in a way that both helps you think about the hard problem of consciousness and makes you realize how central the problem is to your concept of what it means (to you personally) to think and speak subjectively. Loved it!!