The Mind Body Problem Phineas Gage - 1489 Words

Imagine a situation where your entire personality is changed forever by an object that pierces an area of your brain. Those who have had a frontal lobotomy, whether purposefully or not, have had their personality changed permanently. An unlucky foreman of the Rutland Railroad, Phineas Gage, was on the receiving end of a tragic occurrence that severed the frontal lobe area of his prefrontal cortex. He underwent the experience of having a railroad spike pierce him beneath his left cheek and exit through his skull, consequently injuring an important area of his brain. This occurrence changed one part of Gage’s personality completely, though he seemed almost entirely functional after his accident. The one thing that changed in Gage was his ability to imagine the future. He lived completely present in the moment. The unique accident that affected Phineas Gage can be broken down with various different philosophical approaches to answer what is called the â€Å"mind-body problemâ₠¬ . The mind-body problem is composed of attempting to explain things like beliefs, consciousness, emotions, etc., in organisms. Physicalism, dualism, and functionalism all have their unique explanation for the mind-body problem’s implication of Phineas Gage’s accident. Physicalism is a philosophical theory that attempts to solve the mind-body problem with its explanation of the results of the interactions between our brains and our bodies. Physicalism explains that everything in the universe is made up ofShow MoreRelatedLife After Death By Bertrand Russell Essay1389 Words   |  6 Pagesthen one s mind ceases, as well. If you survive death, then your mind must survive. But, brain functioning ceases with death. Therefore, you will not survive death (Zelinski â€Å"On†). The argument is valid but some question whether it is sound. Russell s argument is sound because the third premise, if one’s brain ceases to function, then one’s mind ceases to fu nction, is true; the fifth premise, brain functioning ceases with death, is also true; that all leads to the conclusion, your mind will not surviveRead MoreEssay on Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes1561 Words   |  7 PagesMaterial Things, and the Real Distinction between the Mind and Body of Man, he discusses his belief that the mind and body are two separate substances, claiming that the nonmaterial mind and the material body, while being ontologically distinct substances, causally interact; a belief called Cartesian dualism. Descartes explains that he has a clear and distinct idea of himself as a thinking and non-extended thing, and a clear and distinct idea of his body as a non-thinking and extended thing. He arguesRead MorePsy 360 Cognitive Functions and Phineas Gage994 Words   |  4 PagesCognitive Functions and Phineas Gage Sherrie Y. Saunders PSY 360 Evi Pover March 18, 2013 Cognitive Functions and Phineas Gage The discussion of this paper is the role of cognitive brain functions and Phineas Gage. The amazing story of Phineas Gage will be analyzed and the explanation of cognitive functioning in regard to his situation is very interesting and is also a major topic in this paper. Cognitive brain functions will be thoroughly examined in this paper as well. Read MoreRole of the Brain in Determining Cognitive Functioning1163 Words   |  5 Pagesspecific areas have an impact on cognitive functioning. The tragic case of a rail-road construction foreman known as Phineas Gage in 1848 showed the relation between certain areas of the brain and their support for specific cognitive functions. Phineas traumatic injury has helped neuropsychologists in making significant steps towards understanding the functioning of the human mind. Overview The brain plays an important role in determining cognitive functions. Cognitive functions denote the personalRead MoreEssay about Life After Brain Injuries1763 Words   |  8 Pagespreviously believed that a separation between the mind and ones body existed. I believed that the mind of an individual was his or her soul and that the brain and body were just the machinery used to share that soul with the outside world. I never thought that an injury to the brain could cause a change in the entire essence of a person. However, Damasio espouses beliefs which are the exact opposite of Descartes. Damasio argues that the brain and mind are two inseparable entities and that thinkingRead MoreAnswers1131 Words   |  5 Pagesbe trustworthy – discuss them all.) It’s hard to prove that a physical world exists, because you can only rely on your experiences. Everything that we might have encounter in life, might have been a part of our minds. We could be in a dream state right now. If we try to prove it, your mind would compensate for the senses you tried to use. You can’t always trust your senses, because they can always be faulty at times. For an example when your sick everything might taste off. However, to someone thatRead MoreBrain Studies on Traumatic Brain Injuries1953 Words   |  8 PagesPhineas Gage, a 25 year old construction worker is known as one of the most famous patients that suffered from a traumatic brain injury. While working at a railroad site, an iron tamping rod (43 inches long, 1.25 diameter) went through his left cheek, through his brain, and out the skull. He surprisingly ended up surviving this traumatic injury. After a month in the hospital, he was back out on the street. Once a nice, caring person, P hineas turned into an aggressive man who could not even keep aRead MoreDescartes Vs. Descartes s Theory950 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Descartes a mind cannot be divisible but the body can. He says that it is not humanly possible that someone can live with a divided brain. The argument also says that is it possible to divide our bodies into different part. Therefore scientists attacked this argument and figured they would test to see if it was true. Descartes divisibility argument is not correct, in fact it seems as if it has been proven by scientific experiments that his argument is wrong. In order for DescartesRead MoreThe Social Brain : Evolution And Pathology, Doctors Of Psychiatry Hedda Ribbert And Wulf1596 Words   |  7 PagesPsychopaths exhibit extreme emotions or none at all, and their function processing is slower than that of a person with little to no psychopathic tendencies. There are various methods to identify psychopaths and forms that psychosis may occur. In the mind, there is no physical location that can be analyzed by an x-ray, a dissection, or a microscope to determine psychopathy; therefore the diagnosis of a mental disorder is known as subjective judgment. One complex system that is used is the DiagnosticRead MoreThe Social Brain : Evolution And Pathology, Doctors Of Psychiatry Hedda Ribbert And Wulf1699 Words   |  7 PagesPsychopaths exhibit extreme emotions or none at all, and their function processing is slower than that of a person with little to no psychopathic tendencies. There are various methods to identify psychopaths and forms that psychosis may occur. In the mind, there is no physical location that can be analyzed by an x-ray, a dissection, or a microscope to determine psychopathy; therefore the diagnosis of a mental disorder is known as a subjective judgment. One complex system that is used to identify this