Section I. Question asked in Simon Blackburn’s “Think”
Are experiences through senses and experiences in the mind independent?
Simon Blackburn attempts to answer this question by first explaining the “Zombie and Mutant Possibilities.”(pg. 52) The Zombie Possibility proposes that people may look and behave like ones-self but are not conscious. The Mutant Possibility proposes that there are people who look and behave like oneself and are conscious, but do not interpret feelings or senses the same way that you do. The idea being proposed is that if the mind can live on without the body then the body can live on without a mind. The body would still respond to things the way one with a conscious mind would but it would not be aware of its own existence. This idea is called Cartesian …show more content…
It is possible for a body to stay alive without a mind due to advances in medical science, but it is not possible for the body to function in day to day life without a mind. The body needs to the mind to tell it what to do and the mind needs the body to give it feedback and help with understanding. I believe this due to my own life experience and the presence of those with mental disorders.
I have experience that the mind alone cannot reveal truth just as the senses alone cannot do it either. Sticking your hand into a barrel of water and feeling something stringy and slimy could mean that there is a squid in the water but that doesn’t make it true, you must confirm with more senses and your minds reasoning whether it is or not. The same can be said for those who experience phantom limb syndrome. Their senses tell them there is still a limb there, but without confirming this with their mind, it may cause them some