Part Three:  Do Our Thoughts and Other Mental Activities Originate in Our Brains or Minds?

Last week’s blog post demonstrated that our thoughts could only be explained in terms of our immaterial minds existing independently of our physical brains (matter). I ended by saying I would give examples of how we can know this in this week’s blog post.

First, most cells in the human body are replaced every seven years. Physically we are different persons than we were seven years ago. Even brain cells (neurons), which do not regenerate in the same fashion as other cells in our bodies, still change at a molecular level. In an email correspondence with Dr. J. P. Moreland, I asked about the claim that brain cells are not replaced every seven years. His response is instructive: “The brain gains and loses atoms and molecules, and they are constantly changing relationships to each other, so the brain cannot sustain personal identity over time.” In other words, at a sub-cellular level, brain cells are “constantly changing,”—yet our memory and thoughts remain intact. This alone is compelling evidence that our mind—where memories remain our entire life—is not identical to the physical matter of brain cells, which do change.

Here’s an analogy to illustrate that our mind (thoughts) and physical brain (matter) are distinct features of our being.

All the books I’ve written contain thoughts I’ve generated from research and reflections on various topics. These thoughts are printed with ink on paper (or published electronically, if you read a Kindle or Nook). Initially, however, my thoughts were typed on a computer and backed up on USB storage devices. When completed, I emailed the manuscripts to publishers. Editors read the manuscripts and perhaps even printed hard copies to distribute to other editors and proofreaders. But notice that all these various mediums are physical: the computer files, USB devices, hard copies, electronic transfers, and final printed books. Yet my thoughts remained unchanged in all formats. If you examine a printed page with a magnifying glass, you would only see paper and ink. My thoughts existed in my mind before recorded in a physical form and apart from paper and ink.

One more illustration may help to make this even more clear. If you put a piece of brain tissue under a microscope, what would you see? Brain cells. What you wouldn’t see are memories, feelings, and thoughts manifested in our minds.  Why? Because the mind can’t be reduced to the physical proprieties of the brain. This can only mean that our mind (thoughts, memories, etc.) must exist independent of brain matter.

My thoughts about Rocky Road ice cream are not identical to the physical composition of Rocky Road ice cream; that is, they do not have weight, color, shape, and size. Likewise, belief in God, taste in music, and other mental activities cannot be identified as merely physical properties of our brain. Mind and matter are entirely different properties, altogether different dimensions of our being. ©

Next week we’ll see that even though our immaterial minds are distinct from brain matter, they nevertheless function together as long as our souls are housed in our bodies.