Random Thoughts on the Concept of Mind in a Material Cosmos (Published)
The concept of mind has dominated the philosophical discourse from the earliest times. Perhaps, it was the inspiration of the philosophical enquiry. The mind has always been at the center of man’s quest for meaning. It is the principal questioner of existence. It is the chief interpreter of reality. The mind is the eye of the self. It is in the mind that we become conscious of our selfhood as entities different from the rest of the world. The mind is often thought to be a category other than matter. It is said to be apart from matter but somehow acts on matter. It is often seen as the primary substance in existence. While some thinkers posit the sole reality of matter, some posit the primary of reality of mind. Some still, posit the primary but not sole reality of matter. Still, some posit a duality of mind and matter. But the critical question subsists. How do we explain the reality of mind in a material cosmos? This question warrants reexamining the traditional assumptions on the nature of mind, the qualities of matter, and perhaps, reexamining the language used in defining the concepts of mind and matter. If mind meant the opposite of matter, there could neither be any mind in a material cosmos nor matter in a spiritual cosmos. But the cosmos is the way it is. We are merely trying to comprehend it. The cosmos does not necessarily have to conform to the constructs we make about it. Mind and matter are linguistic constructs formulated to explain the realities we witness in the cosmos. To that end, this work looks at the possibility of a mind in a cosmos that is material. The work aims at resolving the linguistic, scientific and philosophical dichotomies encountered in discussing the concept of mind. The research relies on philosophical analyses and library research.
Keywords: Mind, concept, material cosmos, random, thoughts