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I was discussing the idea of “free will” somewhat recently with a friend who believes that there is no mind vs. brain distinction, and since all of our conscious decisions are actually made by neurons in our brains, we do not truly have free will. I agree that the mind is not a separate entity, but I argued that this means I do have free will, since my brain is what defines me as me, thus any decision that my brain makes is a decision I am making. (I know this is somewhat of a different issue, but thought it relevant.)

The mind and brain are basically the same, but since it is so hard to think about the process of thought, it is easier to separate them slightly when conceptualizing. I tend to think of the brain as the physical matter and the mind as the conscious, working processes that come out of this matter. Merriam-Webster defines the mind as “the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons; the conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism” (http://merriamwebster.com/dictionary/mind). Scientists have already isolated regions of the brain that are for a large part responsible for processes such as reasoning (that is, reasoning does not all occur in one area of the brain, but we have been able to identify areas that specialize in planning, etc). “Conscious mental events and capabilities” also arise from the brain. So it makes sense that the mind is a function of the brain. I just can’t think of anything other than the brain that can account for what I think of as the mind, or for the differences among individuals.

I completely agree with Allison that the fact that the mind is a biological phenomenon rather than a spiritual one does not belittle the mind or limit its power. On the contrary, I find it even more impressive that every human being is given such a powerful genetic gift and yet everyone’s is slightly different. It is an amazing and somehow comforting thought that we are just “clumps of matter” intricately wired to produce an infinite range of behaviors.