Mind
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'''Mind''' collectively refers to the aspects of [[intellect]] and [[consciousness]] manifested as combinations of [[thought]], [[perception]], [[memory]], [[emotion]], [[Free will|will]] and [[imagination]]; mind is the stream of consciousness. It includes all of the brain's conscious processes. This denotation sometimes includes, in certain contexts, the working of the human [[Unconscious mind| unconscious]] or the conscious thoughts of animals. "Mind" is often used to refer especially to the thought processes of [[reason]].
The mind is a model of the universe built up from insights. Thoughts of the mind fall into 2 categories: 1) Analysis of past experience with the purpose of gaining insight for use within this model at a later date; and 2) Simulations of future scenarios using existing insights in the mind model in order to predict outcomes. A mature mind has assimilated many insights and understands cause and effect. When insight is not subordinate to a validation discipline like the [[scientific method|Randomized controlled trial]], fallacious thinking can result in a confused mind. A "common" or "world" mind refers to minds that are in exchange of ideas and insights with each other and form similar conclusions about cause and effect. Through the form of books and other media, minds from the past are able to communicate their insights about cause and effect to present and future minds.
There are many theories of the mind and its function. The earliest recorded works on the mind are by [[Zarathushtra]], [[Gautama Buddha|the Buddha]], [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Adi Shankara]] and other ancient [[Greek philosophy|Greek]], [[Indian philosophy|Indian]] and [[Islamic psychological thought|Islamic philosophers]]. Pre-scientific theories, based in [[theology]], concentrated on the relationship between the mind and the [[soul]], the supernatural, [[divinity|divine]] or god-given essence of the person. Modern theories, based on scientific understanding of the brain, theorise that the mind is a phenomenon of the brain and is synonymous with [[consciousness]].
The question of which human attributes make up the mind is also much debated. Some argue that only the "higher" intellectual functions constitute mind: particularly [[reason]] and [[memory]]. In this view the emotions - [[love]], [[hate]], [[fear]], [[joy]] - are more "primitive" or subjective in nature and should be seen as different from the mind. Others argue that the rational and the emotional sides of the human person cannot be separated, that they are of the same nature and origin, and that they should all be considered as part of the individual mind.
In popular usage ''mind'' is frequently synonymous with ''thought'': It is that private conversation with ourselves that we carry on "inside our heads." Thus we "make up our minds," "change our minds" or are "of two minds" about something. One of the key attributes of the mind in this sense is that it is a private sphere to which no one but the owner has access. No-one else can "know our mind." They can only know what we communicate.(Both consciously and sub-consciously)
==Aspects of mind==
===Mental faculties===
{{seealso|Reason|Faculty psychology|Modularity of mind}}
[[Thought]] is a mental process in which the mind allows the being to [[model (abstract)|model]] the world, and so to deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires. Words referring to similar concepts and processes include [[cognition]], [[sentience]], [[consciousness]], [[idea]], and [[imagination]]. Thinking involves the cerebral manipulation of [[information]], as when we form [[concepts]], engage in [[problem solving]], [[reason]] and make [[choice|decision]]s.
Thinking is a higher [[cognitive]] function and the analysis of thinking processes is part of [[cognitive psychology]].
[[Memory]] is an organism's ability to store, retain, and subsequently recall information. Although traditional studies of memory began in the realms of [[philosophy]], the late nineteenth and early twentieth century put memory within the paradigms of [[cognitive psychology]]. In recent decades, it has become one of the principal pillars of a new branch of science called [[cognitive neuroscience]], a marriage between cognitive psychology and [[neuroscience]].
[[Imagination]] is accepted as the innate ability and [[Process (philosophy)|process]] to invent partial or complete personal realms within the mind from elements derived from sense perceptions of the shared world. The term is technically used in [[psychology]] for the process of reviving in the mind [[perception|percepts]] of objects formerly given in sense perception. Since this use of the term conflicts with that of ordinary [[language]], some psychologists have preferred to describe this process as "[[imaging]]" or "[[imagery]]" or to speak of it as "reproductive" as opposed to "productive" or "constructive" imagination. Imagined images are seen with the "[[mind's eye]]". One hypothesis for the evolution of human imagination is that it allowed [[consciousness|conscious]] beings to solve problems (and hence increase an individual's [[fitness (biology)|fitness]]) by use of mental [[simulation]].
[[Consciousness]] is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as [[subjectivity]], [[self-awareness]], [[sentience]], [[sapience]], and the ability to [[perception|perceive]] the relationship between [[Personal identity (philosophy)|oneself]] and one's [[environment (biophysical)|environment]]. It is a subject of much research in [[philosophy of mind]], [[psychology]], [[neuroscience]], and [[cognitive science]]. Some philosophers divide consciousness into [[phenomena]]l consciousness, which is subjective experience itself, and access consciousness, which refers to the global availability of information to processing systems in the brain.<ref name="Bl"> Ned Block: ''On a Confusion about a Function of Consciousness" in: ''The Behavioral and Brain Sciences'', 1995.</ref> Phenomenal consciousness is a state with [[qualia]]. Phenomenal consciousness is being something and access consciousness is being conscious of something.
[[Mental Retardation]] is a rare case of selected individuals who experience a natural boundary to thinking, logic, and creativity.
===Philosophy of mind===
{{main|Philosophy of mind}}
Philosophy of mind is the branch of [[philosophy]] that studies the nature of the mind, [[mental event]]s, [[mental function]]s, [[mental property|mental properties]], [[consciousness]] and their relationship to the physical body. The ''[[mind-body problem]]'', i.e. the relationship of the mind to the body, is commonly seen as the central issue in philosophy of mind, although there are other issues concerning the nature of the mind that do not involve its relation to the physical body.<ref name="Kim1">{{cite book
| last = Kim
| first = J.
| editor = Honderich, Ted
| others =
| title = Problems in the Philosophy of Mind. Oxford Companion to Philosophy
| year = 1995
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| location = Oxford
| id =
| doi =
}} <!--Kim, J., "Problems in the Philosophy of Mind". ''Oxford Companion to Philosophy''. Ted Honderich (ed.) Oxford:Oxford University Press. 1995.--></ref>
''[[Dualism (philosophy of mind)|Dualism]]'' and ''[[monism]]'' are the two major schools of thought that attempt to resolve the mind-body problem. Dualism is the position that mind and body are in some way separate from each other. It can be traced back to [[Plato]],<ref name="Plato">{{cite book
| author = Plato
| editor = E.A. Duke, W.F. Hicken, W.S.M. Nicoll, D.B. Robinson, J.C.G. Strachan
| title = Phaedo
| edition =
| year = 1995
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| location =
| id =
}}<!--{{cite book | author=Plato | title=Phaedo}} ed. E.A. Duke, W.F. Hicken, W.S.M. Nicoll, D.B. Robinson and J.C.G. Strachan, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.--></ref> [[Aristotle]]<ref name="Rob">Robinson, H. (1983): ‘Aristotelian dualism’, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 1, 123-44.</ref><ref> Nussbaum, M. C. (1984): ‘Aristotelian dualism’, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 2, 197-207.</ref><ref>Nussbaum, M. C. and Rorty, A. O. (1992): Essays on Aristotle's De Anima, Clarendon Press, Oxford.</ref> and the [[Samkhya]] and [[Yoga]] schools of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] philosophy,<ref name="Sa">{{cite web | url=http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Sankhya/id/23117
| title=Sankhya:Hindu philosophy: The Sankhya| author=Sri Swami Sivananda}}</ref> but it was most precisely formulated by [[René Descartes]] in the 17th century.<ref name="De">{{cite book | author=Descartes, René | title=Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy | publisher=Hacket Publishing Company | id=ISBN 0-87220-421-9 }}</ref> ''[[Dualism (philosophy of mind)|Substance dualists]]'' argue that the mind is an independently existing substance, whereas ''[[Property dualism|Property dualists]]'' maintain that the mind is a group of independent properties that [[emergentism|emerge]] from and cannot be reduced to the brain, but that it is not a distinct substance.<ref name="Du">Hart, W.D. (1996) "Dualism", in Samuel Guttenplan (org) ''A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind'', Blackwell, Oxford, 265-7. </ref>
''Monism'' is the position that mind and body are not [[ontology|ontologically]] distinct kinds of entities. This view was first advocated in [[Western Philosophy]] by [[Parmenides]] in the 5th Century BC and was later espoused by the 17th Century [[Rationalism|rationalist]] [[Baruch Spinoza]].<ref name="Spin"> Spinoza, Baruch (1670) ''Tractatus Theologico-Politicus'' (A Theologico-Political Treatise).</ref> ''[[Physicalism|Physicalists]]'' argue that only the entities postulated by physical theory exist, and that the mind will eventually be explained in terms of these entities as physical theory continues to evolve. ''[[idealism (philosophy)|Idealists]]'' maintain that the mind is all that exists and that the external world is either mental itself, or an illusion created by the mind. ''[[neutral monism|Neutral monists]]'' adhere to the position that there is some other, neutral substance, and that both matter and mind are properties of this unknown substance. The most common monisms in the 20th and 21st centuries have all been variations of physicalism; these positions include [[behaviorism]], the [[type physicalism|type identity theory]], [[anomalous monism]] and [[functionalism (philosophy of mind)|functionalism]].<ref name="Kim">Kim, J., "Mind-Body Problem", ''Oxford Companion to Philosophy''. Ted Honderich (ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press. 1995.</ref>
Many modern philosophers of mind adopt either a ''reductive'' or ''non-reductive physicalist'' position, maintaining in their different ways that the mind is not something separate from the body.<ref name="Kim" /> These approaches have been particularly influential in the sciences, particularly in the fields of [[sociobiology]], [[computer science]], [[evolutionary psychology]] and the various [[neuroscience]]s.<ref name="PsyBio">Pinel, J. ''Psychobiology'', (1990) Prentice Hall, Inc. ISBN 8815071741</ref><ref name="LeDoux">LeDoux, J. (2002) ''The Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are'', New York:Viking Penguin. ISBN 8870787958</ref><ref name=RussNor">{{Russell Norvig 2003}}</ref><ref name="DawkRich">Dawkins, R. ''The Selfish Gene'' (1976) Oxford:Oxford University Press. ISBN</ref><!----Well, you get f** idea. There are billions of refs for this---> Other philosophers, however, adopt a non-physicalist position which challenges the notion that the mind is a purely physical construct.<!--eg, Chalmers ref and whatever else you like----> ''Reductive physicalists'' assert that all mental states and properties will eventually be explained by scientific accounts of physiological processes and states.<ref name="Pat">{{cite book | author=Churchland, Patricia | title=Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain. | publisher=MIT Press | year=1986 | id=ISBN 0-262-03116-7 }}</ref><ref name="Paul">{{cite journal | author=Churchland, Paul | title=Eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes | journal=Journal of Philosophy | year=1981 | pages=67–90 | volume = 78 | doi = 10.2307/2025900 <!--Retrieved from CrossRef by DOI bot-->}}</ref><ref name="Smart"> {{cite journal | author=Smart, J.J.C. | title=Sensations and Brain Processes | journal=Philosophical Review | year=1956}}</ref> ''Non-reductive physicalists'' argue that although the brain is all there ''is'' to the mind, the predicates and vocabulary used in mental descriptions and explanations are indispensable, and cannot be reduced to the language and lower-level explanations of physical science.<ref name="Davidson">{{cite book | author=Donald Davidson | title=Essays on Actions and Events | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1980 | id=ISBN 0-19-924627-0 }}</ref><ref name="Pu"> Putnam, Hilary (1967). "Psychological Predicates", in W. H. Capitan and D. D. Merrill, eds., ''Art, Mind and Religion'' (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.</ref> Continued [[neuroscience|neuroscientific]] progress has helped to clarify some of these issues. However, they are far from having been resolved, and modern philosophers of mind continue to ask how the subjective qualities and the intentionality (aboutness) of mental states and properties can be explained in naturalistic terms.<ref name="Int">{{cite book | author=Dennett, Daniel | title=The intentional stance | publisher=MIT Press | location=Cambridge, Mass. |year=1998 |id=ISBN 0-262-54053-3 }}</ref><ref name="Searleint">{{cite book | author=Searle, John | title=Intentionality. A Paper on the Philosophy of Mind | publisher=Nachdr. Suhrkamp | location=Frankfurt a. M. | year=2001 |id=ISBN 3-518-28556-4 }}</ref>
===Science of mind===
{{seealso|Sigmund Freud|Carl Jung|Unconscious mind}}
[[Psychology]] is the scientific study of human behaviour; [[Noology]], the study of thought. As both an [[academic]] and [[applied science|applied]] discipline, Psychology involves the [[science|scientific study]] of [[Mental function|mental processes]] such as [[perception]], [[cognition]], [[emotion]], [[Personality psychology|personality]], as well as environmental influences, such as social and cultural influences, and [[interpersonal relationships]], in order to devise theories of human behaviour. Psychology also refers to the application of such [[knowledge]] to various spheres of [[Human behaviour|human activity]], including problems of individuals' [[everyday life|daily lives]] and the treatment of [[mental health]] problems.
Psychology differs from the other [[social sciences]] (e.g., [[anthropology]], [[economics]], [[political science]], and [[sociology]]) due to its focus on [[experimentation]] at the scale of the individual, as opposed to [[group (sociology)| groups]] or [[institutions]]. Historically, psychology differed from [[biology]] and [[neuroscience]] in that it was primarily concerned with mind rather than brain, a [[philosophy of mind]] known as [[dualism (philosophy of mind)| dualism]]. Modern psychological science incorporates [[Psychophysiology| physiological]] and [[neuropsychology| neurological]] processes into its conceptions of [[perception]], [[cognition]], behaviour, and [[mental disorders]].
A new scientific initiative, the [[Decade of the Mind]], seeks to advocate for the U.S. Government to invest $4 billion over the next ten years in the science of the mind.
===Social psychology and group behaviour===
[[Social psychology]] is the study of how social conditions affect human beings. Scholars in this field are generally either [[psychology|psychologists]] or [[sociology|sociologists]]. Social psychologists who are trained in psychology tend to focus on individuals as the unit of study; sociologists tend to favor the study of groups and larger social units such as societies, although there are exceptions to these general tendencies in both fields. Despite their similarity, the disciplines also tend to differ in their respective goals, approaches, methods, and terminology. They also favor separate [[academic journals]] and [[learned society|societies]].
Like [[biophysics]] and [[cognitive science]], social psychology is an [[interdisciplinary]] area. The greatest period of collaboration between sociologists and psychologists was during the years immediately following World War II (Sewell, 1989). Although there has been increasing isolation and specialization in recent years, some degree of overlap and influence remains between the two disciplines.
===Brain===
{{seealso|Cognitive science|Meme|Memetics}}
In animals the [[brain]], or ''encephalon'' ([[Greek (language)|Greek]] for "in the head"), is the control center of the [[central nervous system]], responsible for [[thought]]. In most animals, the brain is located in the head, protected by the [[skull]] and close to the primary sensory apparatus of [[Visual perception|vision]], [[Hearing (sense)|hearing]], [[equilibrioception]], [[taste]] and [[olfaction]]. While all [[vertebrate]]s have a brain, most [[invertebrate]]s have either a centralized brain or collections of individual [[ganglion|ganglia]]. Primitive animals such as [[sponge]]s do not have a brain at all. Brains can be extremely complex. For example, the [[human brain]] contains more than 100 billion [[neuron]]s, each linked to as many as 10,000 others.
===Mental health===
By analogy with the health of the body, one can speak metaphorically of a state of health of the mind, or [[mental health]]. [[Merriam-Webster]] defines mental health as "A state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life." According to the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), there is no one "official" definition of mental health. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined. In general, most experts agree that "mental health" and "[[mental illness]]" are not opposites. In other words, the absence of a recognized mental disorder is not necessarily an indicator of mental health.
One way to think about mental health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions. Feeling capable and competent; being able to handle normal levels of stress, maintaining satisfying relationships, and leading an independent life; and being able to "bounce back," or recover from difficult situations, are all signs of mental health.
[[Psychotherapy]] is an [[interpersonal]], [[relation]]al intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid [[wiktionary:Client|client]]s in problems of living. This usually includes increasing individual sense of [[well-being]] and reducing subjective discomforting experience. Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, [[dialogue]], [[communication]] and [[behavior]] change and that are designed to improve the [[mental health]] of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a [[family]]). Most forms of psychotherapy use only spoken [[conversation]], though some also use various other forms of communication such as the written word, [[art]], [[drama]], [[narrative]] story, or therapeutic touch. Psychotherapy occurs within a structured encounter between a trained [[therapist]] and client(s). Purposeful, theoretically based psychotherapy began in the 19th century with [[psychoanalysis]]; since then, scores of other approaches have been developed and continue to be created.
===Developmental history of the human mind===
The nature and origins of [[hominid intelligence]] is of natural interest to humans as the most successful and intelligent [[hominid]] [[species]]. As nearly a century of archaeological research has shown, the hominids evolved from earlier primates in eastern [[Africa]]. Unlike some non-primate tree-dwelling mammals, such as [[opossum]]s, they evolved an [[opposable thumb]], which enabled them to grasp and manipulate objects, such as fruit. They also possessed front-facing [[binocular vision]].
Around 10 million years ago, the earth's climate entered a cooler and drier phase, which led eventually to the [[ice age]]s. This forced tree-dwelling animals to adapt to their new environment or die out. Some primates adapted to this challenge by adopting [[bipedalism]]: walking on their hind legs. The advantages of this development are widely disputed. It was once thought that this gave their eyes greater elevation and the ability to see approaching danger further off but as we now know that hominids developed in a forest environment this theory has little real basis. At some point the bipedal primates developed the ability to pick up sticks, bones and stones and use them as [[weapon]]s, or as [[tool]]s for tasks such as killing smaller animals or cutting up carcases. In other words, these primates developed the use of [[technology]], an adaptation other animals have not attained to the same capacity as these hominids. Bipedal tool-using primates evolved in the class of [[hominids]], of which the earliest species, such as ''[[Sahelanthropus tchadensis]]'', are dated to about 7 million years ago although homonid-made tools were not developed until about 2 million years ago. Thus bipedal hominids existed for 5 million years before they started making tools. The advantage of bipedalism would have been simply to be able to carry anything with survival value from an unfavorable environment to a more favorable one. Anything too big or heavy would have to be broken or cut. This would be an insight that led early minds to develop tools for the purpose.
From about 5 million years ago, the hominid brain began to develop rapidly, some say this was because an evolutionary loop had been established between the hominid hand and brain. This theory says that the use of tools conferred a crucial evolutionary advantage on those hominids which had this skill. The use of tools required a larger and more sophisticated brain to co-ordinate the fine hand movements required for this task. however this theory has not been confirmed and many other theories have been developed based on scientific evidence. By 2 million years ago ''[[Homo habilis]]'' had appeared in east Africa: the first hominid to make tools rather than merely use them. Several more species in the genus 'homo' appeared before fully modern humans, known as homo sapiens developed. these homo sapiens, which are the archaic version of the modern human showed the first evidence of [[language]], and the range of activities we call [[culture]], including [[art]] and [[religion]].
About 200,000 years ago in [[Europe]] and the [[Near East]] hominids known to us as [[Neanderthal|Neanderthal man]] or some call them homo neanderthalensis appeared. They too had art such as decorated tools for aesthetic pleasure and culture, such as burying their dead in ways which suggest spiritual beliefs.
hotly debated in the scientific community is whether or not Homo sapiens developed from neanderthals or a combinations of hominids. Some scientists say that the Neanderthals were wiped out by ''homo sapiens'' when they entered the region about 40,000 years ago. What is known is that by 25,000 years ago the Neanderthal was extinct. Between 120,000 to 165,000 years ago ''Homo sapiens'' reached their fully modern form, the first evidence of this was found in Africa although once again the origins are widely debated between three theories, the [[Single-Origin theory]], the [[Multiregional model]] and the [[Assimilation model]].
{{seealso|Evolutionary psychology|Evolutionary neuroscience|Paleoanthropology}}
===Animal intelligence===
[[Animal cognition]], or cognitive ethology, is the title given to a modern approach to the mental capacities of animals. It has developed out of [[comparative psychology]], but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of [[ethology]], [[behavioral ecology]], and [[evolutionary psychology]]. Much of what used to be considered under the title of [[animal intelligence]] is now thought of under this heading. [[Animal language acquisition]], attempting to discern or understand the degree to which animal cognistics can be revealed by [[linguistics]]-related study, has been controversial among [[cognitive linguistics|cognitive linguists]].
===Artificial intelligence===
{{Refimprove|date=September 2007}}
{{Main|Philosophy of artificial intelligence}}
The term [[Artificial Intelligence]] (AI) was first used by [[John McCarthy (computer scientist)|John McCarthy]] who considers it to mean "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines".<ref> WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? by John McCarthy[http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/whatisai.html]</ref> It can also refer to [[intelligence (trait)|intelligence]] as exhibited by an [[artificial]] (''man-made'', ''non-natural'', ''manufactured'') entity. AI is studied in overlapping fields of [[computer science]], [[psychology]], [[neuroscience]] and [[engineering]], dealing with intelligent [[behavior]], [[learn]]ing and [[adapt]]ation and usually developed using customized [[machine]]s or [[computer]]s.
Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior. Examples include [[control system|control]], [[Automated planning and scheduling|planning and scheduling]], the ability to answer diagnostic and consumer questions, [[handwriting recognition|handwriting]], [[natural language]], [[speech recognition|speech]] and [[facial recognition system|facial recognition]]. As such, the study of AI has also become an engineering discipline, focused on providing solutions to real life problems, [[knowledge mining]], [[Computer software|software]] applications, [[strategy games]] like [[computer chess]] and other [[video games]]. One of the biggest difficulties with AI is that of comprehension. Many devices have been created that can do amazing things, but critics of AI claim that no actual comprehension by the AI machine has taken place.
The debate about the nature of the mind is relevant to the development of [[artificial intelligence]]. If the mind is indeed a thing separate from or higher than the functioning of the brain, then hypothetically it would be much more difficult to recreate within a machine, if it were possible at all. If, on the other hand, the mind is no more than the aggregated functions of the brain, then it will be possible to create a machine with a recognisable mind (though possibly only with computers much different from today's), by simple virtue of the fact that such a machine already exists in the form of the human brain.
===Religious perspectives===
Various religious traditions have contributed unique perspectives on the nature of mind. In many traditions, especially [[mysticism|mystical]] traditions, overcoming the [[Ego (spirituality)|ego]] is considered a worthy spiritual goal.
[[Judaism]] teaches that "moach shalit al halev", the mind rules the heart. Humans can approach the Divine intellectually, through learning and behaving according to the Divine Will as enclothed in the Torah, and use that deep logical understanding to elicit and guide emotional arousal during prayer. [[Christianity]] has tended to see the mind as distinct from the [[soul]] (Greek ''[[nous]]'') and sometimes further distinguished from the [[spirit]]. [[Esotericism|Western esoteric traditions]] sometimes refer to a [[mental body]] that exists on a plane other than the physical.
[[Hinduism]]'s various philosophical schools have debated whether the human [[soul]] (Sanskrit ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]]'') is distinct from, or identical to, ''[[Brahman]]'', the [[divine]] [[reality]]. [[Buddhism]] attempted to break with such [[metaphysical]] speculation, and posited that there is actually no distinct thing as a human being, who merely consists of five aggregates, or ''[[skandha]]s''. The [[India]]n [[philosopher]]-sage [[Sri Aurobindo]] attempted to unite the Eastern and Western psychological traditions with his [[integral psychology (Sri Aurobindo)|integral psychology]], as have many philosophers and [[New religious movement]]s. [http://anandkebeechmain.com/maharajji.html Swami Parmanand Ji Maharaj] of [http://anandkebeechmain.com/index.html Bhagwat Bhakti Ashram] also gave a very good discourse on [http://anandkebeechmain.com/downloads/Mind.pdf The Mind].
[[Taoism]] sees the human being as contiguous with natural forces, and the mind as not separate from the [[body]]. [[Confucianism]] sees the mind, like the body, as inherently perfectible.
{{seealso|Buddhism and psychology}}
===New age and alternative perspectives===
According to the [[Parapsychological Association]], [[parapsychology]] is the scientific study of certain types of [[paranormal phenomena]], or of phenomena which appear to be paranormal.<ref>http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved February 10, 2007</ref>
The term is based on the Greek [[para]] (beside/beyond), [[Psyche (psychology)|psyche]] (soul/mind), and [[logos]] (account/explanation) and was coined by psychologist [[Max Dessoir]] in or before 1889. Its first appearance was in an article by Dessoir in the June 1889 issue of the German publication ''Sphinx''.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> [[J. B. Rhine]] later popularized "parapsychology" as a replacement for the earlier term "psychical research", during a shift in methodologies which brought experimental methods to the study of psychic phenomena.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> In contemporary research, the term 'parapsychology' refers to the study of [[Psi (parapsychology)|psi]], a general blanket term used by academic parapsychologists to denote anomalous processes or outcomes.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.medicalglossary.org/psychological_phenomena_and_processes_parapsychology_definitions.html
| title = Parapsychology Terms and Definitions
| publisher = Medical Glossary.org
| year = 2004
| accessdate = 2007-04-08
}}</ref><ref>http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/paraglos.htm#P Psychic Science.com</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p The Parapsychological Association, Inc. (PA) is the international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of ‘psi’</ref>
The scientific reality of parapsychological phenomena and the validity of scientific parapsychological research is a matter of frequent dispute and criticism. The field is regarded by critics as a [[pseudoscience]]. Parapsychologists, in turn, say that parapsychological [[research]] is [[science|scientifically]] rigorous. Despite criticisms, a number of academic institutions now conduct research on the topic, employing laboratory methodologies and statistical techniques, such as [[meta-analysis]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}} The [[Parapsychological Association]] is the leading association for parapsychologists and has been a member of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] since 1969.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse">''The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena'' by Dean I. Radin Harper Edge, ISBN 0-06-251502-0</ref>
==See also==
{{sisterlinks|Mind}}
{{Wikibookspar|Consciousness studies| }}
* [[Mental state]]
* [[Subjective character of experience]]
* [[Theory of mind]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* "[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0503/feature1 The Mind is What the Brain Does]" - National Geographic article.
* [[C. D. Broad]], ''[http://www.ditext.com/broad/mpn/mpn.html The Mind and Its Place in Nature]'', 1925.
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mendis/wheel322.html Abhidhamma: Buddhist Perspective of the Mind and the Mental Functions]
* [http://www.aboutreincarnation.org/mind.php Buddhist View of the Mind]
* [http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/ Current Scientific Research on the Mind and Brain] From [http://www.sciencedaily.com/ ScienceDaily]
* R. Shayna Rosenbaum, Donald T. Stuss, Brian Levine, Endel Tulving, [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/318/5854/1257 "Theory of Mind Is Independent of Episodic Memory"], Science, 23 November 2007: Vol. 318. no. 5854, p. 1257
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[[Category:Metaphysics]]
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[[ia:Mente]]
[[is:Hugur]]
[[it:Mente]]
[[lt:Protas]]
[[ml:മനസ്]]
[[nl:Geest]]
[[ja:心]]
[[no:Sinn]]
[[pl:Umysł]]
[[pt:Mente]]
[[ru:Разум]]
[[sq:Mendja]]
[[simple:Mind]]
[[sl:Razum]]
[[fi:Mieli]]
[[sv:Psyke]]
[[ta:மனம்]]
[[th:จิตใจ]]
[[uk:Розум]]
[[yi:שכל]]
[[zh:心靈]]