[Buddha-l] Physicalism (was Re: Emptiness)

[Bill Kish]

Richard Hayes:
>For various reasons I am drawn to monistic views of mind-body
>whereby what we call "mind" and what we call "body" are as
>intimately related as what we call "matter" and what we
>call "energy." Matter can be seen as a state of energy and vice
>versa, and to call either one as primary and the other secondary
>does not make a great deal of sense. Similarly, to speak of "mind"
>and "body" as two essentially different kinds of thing that are
>mysteriously related does not seem very promising.  Equally
>unpromising is to say that one end of the mind-body continuum is
>primary. To have a preference for one over the other seems to me
>like bad science and bad philosophy and even worse Buddhism.

Hi Richard - 

Doesn't physicalism commit you to view the mind as a natural 
phenomenon consisting of the same sort of matter/energy that 
comprises the human body ?  If so, then doesn't this amount to
making the body primary when considering the mind-body continuum ?

Also, in the view of physicalism you are drawn to, does it make
sense to distinguish mental properties from physical properties ?
If so, how does one go about doing so ?

(Obligatory Buddhist content: Yikes !)

---------
Bill Kish


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