There are even philosophers who think that some kind of Cartesian dualism is true, and that the mind really is epiphenomenal—never causes any physical events at all. They say this because they recognize that the physical is a closed system. If there is a process that begins with a pin being stuck in you and ends with a wince, then there is an entire physical chain from pin to wince that explains the wince. So, they think, it has to be false that you wince because you are in pain.
