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=== Contemporary approach: ===
=== Contemporary approach: ===
The metapsychologists revolve western psychology around two central schools of thoughts in regards to functioning of mind also known as mind-body problem.<ref name="ref7"></ref>
The metapsychologists revolve western psychology around two central schools of thoughts in regards to functioning of mind also known as mind-body problem.<ref name="ref7">Gluttenplan Samuel, A companion to the Philosophy of Mind, Blackwell, Oxford, 1994, pg 265-268.</ref>
<ul style='text-align:justify;'><li style="font-weight: bold;">Monism <br/><span style="font-weight: normal;">This school of psychological philosophy advocates that mind and body are unarguably intangible entitities. We can not define their independent presence as they are indistinguishable from each other. Furthermore depending upon the acceptance of either of these two entities, following groups exists – </span></li>
<ul style='text-align:justify;'><li style="font-weight: bold;">Monism <br/><span style="font-weight: normal;">This school of psychological philosophy advocates that mind and body are unarguably intangible entitities. We can not define their independent presence as they are indistinguishable from each other. Furthermore depending upon the acceptance of either of these two entities, following groups exists – </span></li>
<ol type="a"><li style="font-weight: bold;">Physicalists : <span style="font-weight: normal;">This school of thought empowers the existence of only the entities postulated by physical theory (a theory in which predictions are based upon empirical observations by combining direct physical perception and mathematical calculations). They state that all mental processes have a physiological or neurophysiological basis. </span></li>
<ol type="a"><li style="font-weight: bold;">Physicalists : <span style="font-weight: normal;">This school of thought empowers the existence of only the entities postulated by physical theory (a theory in which predictions are based upon empirical observations by combining direct physical perception and mathematical calculations). They state that all mental processes have a physiological or neurophysiological basis. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Idealists : <span style="font-weight: normal;">They believe that mind is all that exists and every other thing in this world is a mere illusion of mind itself. </span></li></ol>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Idealists : <span style="font-weight: normal;">They believe that mind is all that exists and every other thing in this world is a mere illusion of mind itself. </span></li></ol>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Dualism <br/><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dualists accept the independent existence of both mind and body. Their theories suggest that mind is distinct from brain in a way that mind is genetically defined and naturally adaptive module (non-physical property) of brain which helps brain in information processing and computation. This approach is synonymous to Sankhya darshan’s ideology of prakriti (matter) and purusha (soul in association with mind). </span></li></ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Dualism <br/><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dualists accept the independent existence of both mind and body. Their theories suggest that mind is distinct from brain in a way that mind is genetically defined and naturally adaptive module (non-physical property) of brain which helps brain in information processing and computation. This approach is synonymous to Sankhya darshan’s ideology of prakriti (matter) and purusha (soul in association with mind). </span></li></ul>
== Mechanism of mind ==
<p style="text-align:justify;">Mind is composed of numerous functional units specialized for solving specific problems. These units have both physical component (hormonal and neuronal network) and purely psychological component (the innate human nature borne out of free will which results in individuality).<ref name="ref8">Pinker Steven, How the mind works; New York:Yorton; 1997.</ref> <br/>An attempt to understand the interaction between these two components of mind has been made by Freudian school of psychology. They explain the existence of certain external obstructions which censor any organism’s fundamental wishes or impulses. These censors eventually lead to habit formation (physical component) of an individual giving rise to the innate nature (subconscious or psychological component) over time. For example ; A child puts hand in flame (fundamental wish or impulse) but his mother is vigilant and quick enough to wave off his hand away from flame in time (external censor). When this external check is repeated often, a habit is developed in child’s mind as a result of that censor.<ref name="ref9">Patten Simon N, The Mechanism of mind; Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science; 1917; pg 208-210.</ref> <br/>The censor which restrains oneself from attaining unwholesome objects of senses can either be an external stimulus or an internal stimulus (habit, thought or direct perception and experiences). This could be suggestive of the psychological component dhriti but Western psychologists regard brain’s existence over mind’s in the field of medicine.
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Even though, evidence of a higher independent consciousness (mind) can be ruled out from abovementioned mechanism yet the mentioned interaction is explained as a product of physical manifestations as follows-
* The Theory of responsive behaviour : <br/>It states that the energy obtained from nutrition (nutritive energy) which stays latent otherwise in a gland or nervous tissue, gets transformed into activity (viz. emotions and instincts) in response to some external stimulus. The nerve impulses can be attributed as instinct while emotions arise out of glandular (hormonal) activity, both of which occur in response to a single stimuli.<ref name="ref9" />
* Computational Theory of Mind<ref name="ref8"/> : <br/>One of the pioneering insights to bridge the intentions of mental lives and manifestations of physical lives was put forward by mathematician Alan Turing. He called it as ‘Computational Theory of Mind’. It considers beliefs and desires as information. Information gets incarnated as configurations of symbols. Symbols are the physical manifestations of mind, similar to chips in a computer or neuron in brain. These symbols signify things in external world which initially triggered them either directly or indirectly. Eventually when symbols concerned with external bits of matter (stimuli) coincide with symbols concerned with bits of muscle or tissue (responsible for reaction to stimuli), behaviour patterns get established.
Hence in field of medical science, brain activity is considered equivalent to mind’s activity. Any change occurring in one implies a corresponding change in other. On the other hand, philosophers credit mind to be superior to brain rendering many mental functions to be exercised by free will which is beyond the domain of physical nervous system.</p>
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