Quote:
Originally posted by KraziHare
If i imagine my mind, am I thinking of my brain, or is my brain thinking of me?
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I was going to just say, "Whoaaa...yeah man...totally! *toke*", but I think it'll be fun to see what this means if you break it down. Bear with me...I'm just making this up as I go along.
You have defined two entities: you, and your mind/brain. Your first premise is that these two things are separate, otherwise the two statements "I am thinking of my brain" and "My brain is thinking of me" would mean the same thing. So, the first question that must be resolved is: what is the relationship between you and your brain?
Let's look at two major interpretations of the thought process that would lead you to both of those conclusions. Then we'll see which premises lead you to either of those interpretations. Here's interpretation #1:
"You" could be meant to be defined as everything that, when put together in just the right way, forms YOU. This includes your mind, body, and spirit. And by spirit, I mean whatever the intangible quality is that differentiates You from someone else who just looks like you. So, when the entity of You acts, we can say it is a combination of your spirit prompting a thought to emerge from your mind, and then your mind potentially forming an action in your body. In this interpretation, your spirit acts as commander of body and mind.
The chain of command is spirit>mind>body.
So, "If I imagine my mind", what is going on? You, which is basically your spirit controlling your mind and body, is causing your mind to imagine itself. Thus the answer would be "I am thinking of my brain."
Interpretation #2:
There is no such thing as a spirit. A mind plus a body is all there is to a person, and two people with the same physical brain and physical body are the same person. So, the special quality that makes You different from someone who just looks like you is merely an illusion created by your physical brain. Basically, "spirit" is just a function of the mind. Then, when you want to act, your mind imagines your spirit, which controls the direction of your thoughts. Then your fictional "spirit" tells your mind to act, and the action is carried out by an order from your mind to your body.
The chain of command is: mind>(spirit)>mind>body
So, when you say, "If I am imagining my mind", what is happening? Your mind is imagining something (your spirit) which directs you to think of your mind again. But, in that scenario, your mind is the one imagining You. So the answer would be "My mind is imagining me."
What's the difference between the two answers? Well, it depends on what happens when you form a thought. Is your "spirit" directing the show and manipulating your Earthly body, or is your "spirit" merely an illusion caused by your mind?
Summary: If you believe your spirit is the cause of your thought process, you are probably inclined to believe You are thinking about your brain. If you believe your thought processes just happen, and your "spirit" is at best a creation of your imagination, you are probably inclined to believe Your brain is thinking about you.
Personally, I'm with the latter. My brain is thinking about me.