ESSAY The Mind-Brain Problem

Abstract-The mind-brain problem, which is still with us, raises the ques-tion as to whether the mind is no more than the idle side-effect of our brain processes or whether the mind can, in some degree, influence behavior. Here we rehearse the arguments on both sides plus some desperate recent attempts to eliminate mind altogether. What is the Problem? However contentious, the philosophical problem, as distinct from the physio-logical problem, can be stated quite simply as follows: What, essentially, is the relationship between events in the brain and those private, subjective, intro-spectible experiences that together constitute our inner mental life? We need not assume here that consciousness is synonymous with mind-consciousness may well be no more than just one aspect of mind-but, with respect to the problem at issue, it is the existence of consciousness that is critical. Stated thus, the problem admits of only three basic answers: (1) Events in the brain, operating in accordance with the laws of physics, determine com