Is The Mind Aware Of Itself? – Redux – Modern Koans
Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s)
This is a second response to a question I recently answered. In this post, I approach it from a different frame of reference. My final answer remains the same.
This is a very tricky question. I’m going to approach the question from a more philosophical bent. First I want to take a few stabs at defining the ambiguous components of this seemingly innocent question.
Definitions:
Mind:
Could mean your brain,
Could be some non-material substance,
Could mean the medium in which arise sensations that appear to be available for articulation by us.
Meditation is bringing the body, breath, and mind together into the present moment. We allow ourselves to be open to the sensations that float into our awareness.
The Mind Problem
The big mystery and philosophical controversy at the center of this question is what is mind. Dualists and non-dualists have fought for centuries over the substance of mind. Is it a soul or just a material function of the body?
I’m going to sidestep this clash, by choosing a neutral definition
mind is the medium in which arise sensations that appear to be available to us for articulation.
When mind is aware of the body, those sensations become available for articulation. For example, when I’m aware that my feet are cold, I have the ability to say “my feet are cold”. It may also be the case that I lose the ability to articulate other things about my experience. For instance, being conscious of my feet may cause me to be unaware of the sensations on my tongue.
A prerequisite for articulation and the core point of my response is that all of objects of mind are sensations. These sensations come primarily in the form of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and thoughts.
In meditation, we have no access whatsoever to the medium that perceives these sensations. It’s also true that we have no access to the thinker or the meaner who thinks the thoughts or whose volition produces our actions. The thinker is not an object of mind, nor the object of any of the other senses.
Whether you’re a materialist or a dualist, you have to admit this is true. Materialists must admit we have no direct access to our personal brain function. Dualists have to admit they have no personal access to the soul.
So my answer to the question is (still) no.
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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