Mind-body Integration

[dan_edge]

A wealth of philosophical literature has been devoted to discussion of the supposed mind-body split, and why no such dichotomy exists. But the specific way in which mind and body are integrated has been neglected to a significant degree. This essay will explore the connection between these components of self and applications for self-training. I intend this to be a foundational paper for future articles on gastronomy, self-motivation, sexuality, and romantic love. I assume that the reader has a working knowledge of psycho-epistemology, specifically the way in which concepts and physical motions are automatized in the subconscious. A summary of these ideas can be found in the introduction to my Psycho-Epistemology of Acting article.

The process by which ideas and physical motions are automatized is asymmetrical reciprocal, with one's volitional consciousness performing the weighted side of the process. One must initially focus on an idea or set of actions in order to automatize it, but after it is automatized the subconscious makes this information immediately available. Similarly, in the mind-body relationship, the mind is the weighted side of the equation. But the mind does not store automatized physical motions as entirely separate from ideas. The two are very much interrelated. I propose that automatized ideas, sensations, and physical motions are stored together, as integrated units, in the subconscious. I shall designate these composites as psycho-physical units.

The teleology of the subconscious must now be considered. Man is able to deal with vast quantities of information because his subconscious provides him information related to whatever his mind is focused on at any particular time. If one's mind is well organized in a hierarchical fashion, then the subconscious will provide information stored close by within the hierarchy. Conceptual units may be interrelated and cross-classified in a variety of ways, and the subconscious aims to provide the focal awareness with related information. For instance, if one is thinking about snakes, his subconscious will send him units related to snakes, like reptile, or animal, or some memory of an encounter with a snake, or some emotion related to snakes (like fear), etc. The information provided depends both on the organization of one's mind and the context in which the idea arises in the focal awareness.

If components of mind and body are integrated and stored together, then one would expect that his mind will provide automatized physical motions when considering an idea related to those motions, and vice versa. Using the "snake" example, if one fears snakes, then he may cringe when the topic of snakes comes up in conversation. Note that he does not necessarily choose to cringe in the moment, it is simply an automatic reaction, one which he would experience to a greater degree if he actually saw a snake nearby. To use another example, if an accomplished typist closes his eyes and imagines words he wants to type, then he can allow his subconscious to take over and his fingers move as if he were actually typing.

Conversely, willfully performing automatized physical motions related to mental units will trigger the subconscious to provide related conceptual information. For instance, if one empties his mind and goes though the motions of riding a bike, then his mind will send him information related to bike-riding. If he allows his mind to wander, this activity may trigger memories of bike-riding, ideas about fitness, or any other thoughts related to bicycles. These psycho-physical units are very much interrelated and can be attuned and organized in a the same way as conceptual units.

Sensory-perceptual experiences are also integrated into psycho-physical units. If one detects the pleasantly familiar scent of honey wafting in the air, he may begin to lick his lips, even before he conceptually identifies the smell. Also, his subconscious may send him memories or pictures of pleasant gastronomical experiences. All this before he even identifies the fact that yummy honey is in the immediate vicinity. Alternatively, thoughts of a pleasant food can give rise to the automatized sense-memory of that food. One can imagine that he is smelling or tasting something that is not in fact present. The human mind is incredibly powerful, and can integrate all these elements of conceptual, physical, and sensory units together with ease.

One's physical state can also affect his mood in a variety of ways. For years, motivational speakers have argued that sitting up straight, breathing deeply, and smiling can improve one's emotional state almost immediately. Similarly, if one forces an angry facial expression and posture, and breathes sharply, his mind will tend toward negative feelings and memories. Actors have long used this method to incite an appropriate emotional state in the moment on stage. The evidence for this phenomenon must be gathered introspectively, and as it may seem somewhat counter-intuitive, I encourage those who are interested in exploring these ideas to experiment with this.

Emotional experiences are a special case, because they represent a psycho-physical experience in and of themselves. Emotions are a response to automatized value-judgments (conceptual information), yet are experienced physically. Emotions can be identified and classified in part by the way they affect one's body. Feelings of anxiety may cause one to frown, raise his blood-pressure, increase his heart rate, tighten his stomach, or (most often) a combination of these. Feelings of happiness may cause one to smile, laugh, dance, etc. It is important to note that the physical manifestation of an emotional experience is automatic. One does not need to focus on the actions associated with an emotion, he performs them automatically. (However, he can forcibly re-automatize these physical reactions if they are incommensurate with his value-system. I will offer a more complete discussion of re-automatizing the physical components of emotions in another essay).

I propose that emotional experiences are also integrated into psycho-physical units, and are treated by the subconscious as information related to ideas and physical actions. If one ponders a happy memory, he may experience a shadow of the happiness he felt at that time, along with the physical manifestation of that happiness. If he feels happy in the moment, his mind may naturally wander to memories of happy occasions. This phenomenon is very much the same as the snake-reptile example. Again, the function of the subconscious is to provide related information to one's focal awareness, and I argue that all these elements of self are integrated in one's mind.

With a proper understanding of the way in which his mind and body are integrated, an individual can train himself to automatize mental, physical, sensual, and emotional experiences in a more optimal way. It is important to train not only one's mind, but also one's body and spirit. The man who has fully integrated his mind and body feels more comfortable in his own skin, and is more attuned to experiences of sexuality and sensuality. He can achieve this state of being by paying closer attention to the interrelationship between the different elements of self. He studies dance, or martial arts, or sports, etc., in an effort to explore the physical elements of his existence and automatize physical expressions of masculine (or feminine) power. He can become more acutely aware of the physical manifestations of his emotions, and learn to control and re-automatize these physical reactions to more appropriately reflect his value-system. The applications of these principles are endless, and I hope to explore them in depth in future papers.

I welcome any questions or comments. Thank you for reading.

--Dan Edge

[EC]

Again, the function of the subconscious is to provide related information to one's focal awareness, and I argue that all these elements of self are integrated in one's mind.

Dan-- Is this your own conclusion, or is it from the Objectivist corpus somewhere that I've never noticed? I agree with it but have never seen it put that way.

[dan_edge]

EC,

To be safe: all conclusions in the essay are mine. I think Rand may have talked about the subconscious in the same way, but no direct quotes come to mind, so until I find some I'll just say it's my own idea Really, almost everything in this essay is new material that is not under the Objectivist umbrella. Rand wasn't primarily a psychologist, and she didn't write as much in this field as in philosophy.

Thanks,

--Dan Edge

[dan_edge]

While I'm getting lampooned for my other essays I'd love to get more feedback on this one, which is even more contentious and abstract.

--Dan Edge

[softwareNerd]

Great essay, Dan. Why do you think it might be contentious? The focus of your essay is on automatized processes, so you do not address the question of conscious control to a great degree; but, you do allude to conscious control in terms of "programming" the subconscious relationships. You do not talk about the great amounts of conscious control that can be exercised in asking the sub-conscious what relationships to look for (e.g. "all animals names beginning with 'L'); but, again that's not the subject of the essay. So, I'm curious: is there some particular aspect of it that you judge to be particularly controversial?

Also, you're probably familiar with these references, but for anyone else who is interested these are closely related to the subject of the essay:

• Harry Binswanger's lectures (part 1 and part 2) on Psycho-Epistemology.
  
• The Mind's Best Work - D.N.Perkins (By a non-Objectivist researcher. Excellent book for a rational critique of studies and theories across the whole breadth of the field. Recommended by Dr. Binswanger)
  

[dan_edge]

Hello,

Thank you very much for replying.

"So, I'm curious: is there some particular aspect of it that you judge to be particularly controversial?"

I have met resistance to the idea that automatized physical motions are treated by the subconscious as units, in the same way that the subconscious treats concepts as units. I certainly don't want to be accused of holding the view that automatized physical motions are concepts, just that they are treated in a similar way by the subconscious. I saw a similarity there and took a stab at explaining further. The concern is that the theory is partly rationalistic, not fully grounded. I take this criticism seriously, but I take it to mean that I don't fully understand the subject. I still think the essay is the beginning to a solution.

I have also met resistance to the idea that willfully enacting the physical manifestation of an emotion will incite the emotion itself. One objection is that emotions are always a response to a particular content, and that when you merely go through the motions your mind does not connect the motions to any specific content. Therefore, what you experience when you approximate the physical manifestation of an emotion is just the physical part, not the conceptual part, but to be considered at "emotion," both must be present. Basically, I have been accused of using inaccurate terminology, which I freely admit, since the subject matter is so abstract and I'm still figuring it out.

I have heard the Binswanger lectures but haven't heard of the Perkins book. I will check it out. Thanks!

--Dan Edge

[aequalsa]

The concern is that the theory is partly rationalistic, not fully grounded

I can ground it a bit for you. Martial arts has been a long time hobby of mine and what you describe is precisely what occurs.

Over time "moves" that you learn blur into movement. So when someone attacks you in a particular way, the many conscious repetitions you have practiced and thought about become the automated response to the set of movements. It is called "flow" in MA.

The experienced feeling is exactly like you describe. An attack seems to be dealt with in my mind indistinguishably from a verbal question. For example, if someone asked, "what animals are found on farms?", my subconscious might come up with cow, pig, ox, or rooster...and any of those would be correct. Chair, bananna, and vacuum would be wrong. It is the same in fighting. Their actions require and create my response.

As this response becomes more automated, more energy seems to be freed up for conscious thought about strategy and tactics. (using mental tricks, illusions, and things of that sort to redirect their attention and shift their timing and focus) This is not dissimiliar to being able to think about something else while carrying on a simple conversation.

So movement like most things requires you to learn letters, then words, then sentences, the paragraphs, then books.

No criticism from me on that account. You seem to be correct in your assessment.

One minor issue I have is with emotion. While it may be similiar in some regards, there exists, an underlying psychosomatic body state that seems to be an innate response to stimuli. Our sympathetic/parasympathetic, fight/flight response happens automatically. On the other hand, continuos exposure to something which excites your nervous system, say, public speaking, will dull the physical response over time. So the particulars that are automatically evaluated as calming or exciting might work as you say, but the physical element of the emotion is as I understand, unalterable in the short run, except indirectly.

So by reevaluating a stimulus in a different light it might be(and probably is, in my oppinion) possible to alter the physical effects of an emotion. Of course keeping the presence of mind to reevaluate is another thing altogether.