Philosophy of the Mind

So I was reading this book on poetry. (Go figure!) The author is a really big fan of classical Japanese women Poets. (Who wouldn't be?) And there was something that struck me as fascinating, though it had very little to do with what was actually being said in the book.

SHI in Japanese means Mind-Body-Spirit.

A while back I read this philosophy book on (well) the mind. It is called Mind: A Brief Introduction by John Searle. (Couldn't get clearer than that!) The book is very straightforward, lacks all the philosophical language that deters people from philosophy. But was very useful with regards to introducing the Western span of thought on how the Mind functions.

Whereas in Japan/China they use to think the heart was were all feelings, thoughts, and souls derived from, Western scholars believed there to be a distinction between the Mind and the Heart. Such a small difference has lead to dramatic differences in faith, body, thought, spirituality, (you name it).

A soul in Japan is linked fundamentally to the function of the body, the same can be said about our thoughts and our feelings. They all are harmonized together in the shell that is our skin.

In contrast, American strands of thought tend to believe that there is a distinction between the Mind, Feelings, the Body and The Spirit. In fact in the past westerners made a threefold distinction: Mind, Body, Soul. Philosophy has addressed that dynamic in more detail.

Interestingly, Searle says most commonplace thought in the West is that the mind and body are separate from the soul. Meaning that the soul does not determine the functioning of the body or the mind. Conversely, Japanese thought tends to believe that the soul, body, and mind are all linked and all influence each other. (Of course this is all gravely simplified and dramatically changing in today's world!)

When I was a kid I had a friend who was Vietnamese and was kicked out of her country during the Vietnam war. A feisty little girl, she would later in her life become a blond, with large boobs, and a white republican boyfriend. (identity crisis! I think so!)

In any case, I remember taking her home one day with my mother, and she explained that her mother use to pray for hours and hours, so much so that her body would gravitate. This mystified me, but I didn't believe it in the slightest, neither did my mother. But looking back now, it is clear to me that the overwhelming power of the soul does help one survive, it pulls one down into the pits of despair and madness, or helps them fight the sicknesses they may have to overcome. And maybe, just maybe, it can gravitate someone off the ground. (This sorta reminds me of Sufism.)

That said, my sister once told me that she read that Steve Jobs biggest regret was not putting more faith into the power of science.

Anyone reading my blog will notice I have the tendencies to go through really dark periods, its comforting to me to believe that my soul in some way or another is attached to me, forcing me to move forward. Its even more comforting to know that when and if I do hit rock bottom, and my soul no longer has control, there is a pill for that!