[quote=“pilgrim_tom”]
For me, the brain and the mind are one.
I don’t think of the mind as being caused by the brain, or a byproduct/epiphenomenon of the brain, the mind is the mind/brain apprehending or perceiving itself directly, introspectively, the brain is the brain/mind apprehending, perceiving itself, and other brain/minds indirectly, via the five senses.
Two phenomenon, one thing, just like a waterfall appears different to our eyes, ears and other senses, but it’s all basically the same thing.
The brain can appear to cause changes in the mind, but the mind can also appear to cause changes in the brain, because they’re one.
Neither is the cause of the other, for every change that happens in one, an equal and corresponding change in the other and vice versa, or at least, that is how it appears to me, based on my experience and research.
While I’m open to spirituality, I’m not a very spiritual person, and am very skeptical of there being a part of ourselves which is not at risk of being destroyed, or can’t be destroyed in what we would call physical or material ways.
Now not everything we do seems to have a survival purpose, some things, like nipples on men, or song and dance, may have little-no survival purpose, and some things we do, like taking meth, or hang gliding, may even be dangerous, and some of these things and behaviors are partly-fully genetic, or inherited upon conception.
Thou detrimental, they nonetheless get passed down from one generation to the next, and some of these things, thou detrimental, may still be of some importance to us, we like doing them.
It’s not that these non-survival things shouldn’t be important to us, just that survival things should take precedence.
After all, we can derive a great deal of satisfaction just from attaining the necessities of life, for ourselves and those whoever else we care for.
That’s really what’s important to us, and will ultimately give us the most satisfaction and pleasure, for the vast majority of people, places and times really.
The rest is not by/large inessential.
Also, you can forgo inessential things and do essential, survival things, but you can’t do inessential things if you’re dead, or in poor health, so survival and being in good physical and mental health ought to take precedence.
The problem with people I think is we take what’s most important for granted, and we get caught up in trivial pursuits, begin thinking of such things as what’s of real importance, neglecting necessities in the process, and that’s why we, as individuals and a species are getting sicker, in my estimation, and why we’ll die.
It’s not that we should care only about survival and being in good health, just there’s a hierarchy, and in some cases, many cases, man has got it backwards.