If the mind could be stopped, what would happen?

@Cyracuz,

I'm fortunate, in a way, to have a poor memory. I don't seem to hold onto the past (even though Freudians might say the past holds onto me more than I realize). I see the dog's forgetting his ordeal on the ice as similar to myself skidding through life's pains. I see the issue of the mind stopping as similar to letting go of the memory of experiences. Even in meditation, a thought, image, or feeling appears but is released (let go) immediately making room for the next thought, image or feeling which is also forgotten immediately. Letting go is a kind of freedom.

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@JLNobody,

Perhaps it is a blessing to have poor memory. I tend to remember certain things very well, while others slip my mind almost instantly. But I think it is more important to savor the lessons of experience rather than the experiences themselves. Also I find that the things I remember best are usually the things that had the strongest emotional impact on me.
In the tale of the dog I was thinking of the frozen lake as a "subconsciousness" on which the conscious mind runs around chasing itself. When it stops the ice cracks and the conscious mind falls into the subconscious mind. But I am pretty sure the dog didn't see it that way. Smile

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If the mind could be stopped, what would happen? Could the answer be as simple as, "There would be no thoughts?

Or would it be a more complex answer?

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@reasoning logic,

I guess that's an empirical question to be answered by brain scientists. I see no need for speculation here.

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@reasoning logic,

I believe that the mind is a mirage, it is a collage of thoughts, and the impression of an ever present entity of mind is merely a belief derived from this collage forming the idea of itself. No thoughts = no mind, and similarly, thoughts=mind. As I see it, anyway.

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@Cyracuz,

Cyracuz wrote:

I believe that the mind is a mirage, it is a collage of thoughts, and the impression of an ever present entity of mind is merely a belief derived from this collage forming the idea of itself. No thoughts = no mind, and similarly, thoughts=mind. As I see it, anyway.

You and I must've studied some of the same philosophy...

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@FBM,

The way it is presented the argument comes short and simpleminded...whatever else could mind be, but the process of thoughts? What matters to a tangible concept of mind is the way brain integratedly operates, as its evolution along the hominedes History...

...Collage of thoughs...certainly! But not without a purpose...
"Self" refers to what we are functionally, phenomenologically being...what more or whay else should we ask for ??

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@FBM,

Well, each human being is more similar to all others than different, yet the differences are what we most often give emphasis. I haven't really studied alot of philosophy. The "direct experience" has always been much more appealing to me.

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You Live Inside Technology!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_83E3mz8dng&feature=channel_video_title

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@Fil Albuquerque,

Fil Albuquerque wrote:

The way it is presented the argument comes short and simpleminded...whatever else could mind be, but the process of thoughts? What matters to a tangible concept of mind is the way brain integratedly operates, as its evolution along the hominedes History...

...Collage of thoughs...certainly! But not without a purpose...
"Self" refers to what we are functionally, phenomenologically being...what more or whay else should we ask for ??

I got no beef with any of that, either. Come to think of it, tho, 'collage' isn't a very good word for the idea I have. It's too static, and my understanding of mind is that it's a very dynamic, ongoing process, not an entity at all. Never the same from moment to moment, contingent on the environment, a process involving an uncountable number of influencing conditions, rather than some 'thing' that 'I' have.

Oh, and I wouldn't ask for anything to be different about it. If it weren't supposed to be the way it is, it wouldn't be that way. Wink

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@Cyracuz,

Cyracuz wrote:

Well, each human being is more similar to all others than different, yet the differences are what we most often give emphasis. I haven't really studied alot of philosophy. The "direct experience" has always been much more appealing to me.

Gotcha. It took me a lot of studyin' philosophy to figure out that direct experience is better. Confused

Back to stopping the mind (whatever it is): There's so much going on subconsciously that keeps the body alive (autonomic nervous system) and is still, I guess, considered to be part of the total mind, that if you completely stopped the mind, your heart, breathing, etc, would all stop, too. Shocked

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@FBM,

I would say there are a lot of brain functions that are not included in the concept of mind. My consciousness is infinitely more vast than my mind, and when I "stop" my mind I can experience (my) consciousness.
But maybe I should add that I would pretty much equate mind with conscious or deliberate thought process.

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@Cyracuz,

What about "attention"? Right now my attention relocated to the sound of the radio because I heard the name of Newt Gingrich. Before that I heard the sound of the radio but at a less than thoroughly conscious level. As Searle might put it my attention was peripheral rather than central until I heard Gingrich's name. Freud might have called that "subconscious", as opposed to "unconscious".

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@JLNobody,

Would Freud's use of the word be considered as layman today or does it still fit the use?

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What is the mind? Who does want to bring stop to the mind? Is the controller of the mind separate from the mind or the controller is another trick made by the mind? For what reason does the mind want to bring stop to itself? Do we take mind for the brain? Do we take mind as consciousness? We know what orange is and we do not debate over oranges taking for apples by mistake. Do we all talking about one thing when we say "the mind"?
And finally, is it not the mind itself saying "mind" doesn't work or "mind" does work?
Do we assume ourselves anything separate from the mind or we are nothing but "by-production"s of the mind with all its memories, knowledges and its ability to recall events?

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Sorry I can only access the abstract, but here's something that, to me, makes it clear that the sub/unconscious activity of the brain can't be neglected or left out of any mind theory that aims to be comprehensive:

Quote:

There has been a long controversy as to whether subjectively 'free' decisions are determined by brain activity ahead of time. We found that the outcome of a decision can be encoded in brain activity of prefrontal and parietal cortex up to 10 s before it enters awareness. This delay presumably reflects the operation of a network of high-level control areas that begin to prepare an upcoming decision long before it enters awareness.

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v11/n5/abs/nn.2112.html

There are a handful of other studies that have produced similar results, but I can't be arsed to look them up right now. Mr. Green

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@JLNobody,

I like to think of attention as the wakeful sense direction of the mind. As I said, I believe that our consciousness is far more vast than our minds, and in the case of the radio I would say that your consciousness directed your mind's attention to it when consciousness (not the mind) perceived something familiar or of interest.
But I am bluffing my way here (to borrow a phrase I heard from you once). I haven't really thought this through to the point where I can present a coherent and complete "system" in which all these aspects are accounted for. That is mainly because I believe such presentations are very much like photographs of clouds.

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@Cyracuz,

maybe you just mean the opposite and got confused...that would made more sense to me...

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This covers some of what you all have been talking about!

Part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77XBZHJcoK4

Part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcEV_HsIdBI&feature=related

Part3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRkzdFG-lyE&feature=related

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@reasoning logic,

That video unfortunately is a perfectly good example on what I would n´t do to defend any concept of truth...this meaning that although I agree with the conclusion I certainly don´t agree with the linear approach that it does...

just imagine that in 50 years time you will maybe be able to simulate an entire world with AI bots and everything and they are no close to being more real and material then zero´s and one´s in a running program...

...the video although with some information is utterly simple minded...

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If the mind could be stopped, what would happen?

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