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11-09-01
To answer this I was forced to put a hiearchy in the offered options. Here is what I came up with:
Soul
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Mind
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Body
At the very top, the part of us that is our essence, the part that percieves, and processes all the experiences the mind offers. It is our concious and subconcious mind, all that goes beyond the more neurochemical processes in the mind.
Below, the mind. Here, all commands to the body are issued, and all messages (sensory input: Sight, touch, hearing ect) are recieved. They are converted into a means the soul can interpret.
At the bottom, the body. This is all the cold flesh, without any advanced senses. Compare this layer to the frogleg you gave a jolt, in biology classes. Does a frogleg still feel? No, and still, it's motoric functions remain intact...
Now, where to put the Emotions. First, we need to define emotions.
Are they impulses, commands sent to the body? No...
Are they sensory input? Something you hear, or touch? No...
They will not fit in the body layer. Then the mind...
Are they chemical processes? Partly...
Are they neurological processes? Partly...
The mind reacts on certain sensory input differently. Often creating it's own extra sensory input... Simulating feelings that are not caused by external effects on the body. Emotions are one of these, I think. As certain forms of input mingle, the mind tries to order them, to categorise the current mix... An emotion is the category it falls under. Such would make emotions a function of the mind...
As for the soul... Would it be put there, then emotions would not have a direct, measurable effect in the brain. They would be thoughts, like any other. Yet the process of thinking and the process of feeling is different. Therefor, I must put it in the mind...
... and yes, I know I try and think of humans as advanced computers too much. Sue me :p ... ... Time has no bearing... ...when the whiteout begins...
Don't come after me... | |