Any understanding of the role of the brain in healing rests on the understanding of its central position in the relationship between the brain, body, and mind. In exploring the human brain, our most astonishing asset, we probe the very fundamentals of human nature, collectively and as individuals. But as soon as we begin to do this, we confront a problem: how does the brain, mere flesh and blood, give rise to our thoughts and experiences – the world of the mind?
In this chapter, we touch on some of the more influential theories on the relationship of mind, brain, and body – ideas that have steered the development of Western medicine and healing practices. There are many mysteries still to uncover, but modern computerized scanning technology is beginning to reveal the brain in action and to confirm the holistic view long held by Eastern traditions: that mind and body are inextricably linked. The brain, it seems, is where our physical and mental selves come together.
THE MIND-BODY LINK
The relationship between body and mind has occupied some of the world’s greatest thinkers for centuries. Many Western philosophers concluded that mind and body were entirely separate, and this view and this view had a strong influence on the development of scientific medicine and its practice. Today, a more integrated approach is increasingly being accepted across many areas, from medicine to religion.
It seems obvious that every person has a mind and a body and that the brain is the place where all the activity that we call thinking occurs. But what exactly is the relationship between these three viral parts of ourselves – mind, brain, and body? This may seem a simple question, but it has puzzled thinkers through the ages, and they have come up with a variety of different answers. What is clear today, however, is that the interaction between mind and body is an important key to maintaining good health. The idea that mind and body are intrinsically linked and, therefore, cannot be treated separately has a long history of healing. In ancient Greece, for example, people who were physically ill or emotionally troubled would visit one of the temples of the healing god Asclepius. Here, far removed from the stress of daily life, they would enjoy music, drama, and philosophical discussion and focus on diet, fitness, and self-examination to revive both mind and body.
Descartes and dualism
In 17th-century Europe, however, a radical new approach emerged. The French thinker Rene Descartes, known as the father of modern philosophy, rejected the idea that mind and body are unified. Instead, he developed the concept of dualism, in which mind and body are quite separate. Descartes was striving to set the knowledge and philosophy of his day on new, more solid foundations. To do this, he started from scratch, discarding all preconceptions that could be doubted. He even speculated on whether his whole life was a dream or the deception of a malignant demon. But, by reflecting on his thinking, he realized that this itself was sufficient to prove his existence. He concluded: ‘I am, I exist, is necessarily true as· often as l put it forward or conceive of it in my mind. ‘ From this follows perhaps the best-known quotation in all philosophy: ‘ I think, therefore I am, or in Latin, ‘ cogito ergo sum.’ Descartes argued that a person, and indeed the whole world, consists of two radically different substances: mind and matter. The mind, which he saw as the real identity of a person, existed as a spiritual ‘substance’ and was in a separate material universe. Descartes could not deny that the two substances interact with each other, commenting that ‘I am not merely present in my body as a sailor in a ship, but I am very closely united and as it was intermingled with it. ‘ This revealed the main problem with dualism: if body and mind are fundamentally different, how can they interact or affect each other? And what makes it possible for our minds to interact with the physical world around us?
Descartes never fully unraveled the ‘intermingling’ of mind and body. Indeed, the ‘ mind-body problem’ has continued to intrigue philosophers ever since. Nevertheless, the philosophical separation of mind and body seemed to be the best theory available and became very influential throughout Western thought. Like Descartes, Christianity has often suggested the separation of mind and body (and the inferiority of the latter), encouraging followers to purify their souls by winning control over their bodily impulses. In the context of religion, dualism remains popular today, perhaps because it can provide a basis for belief in life after death in the face of physical mortality, just as Descartes believed that after the body dies, the mind continues to exist.
Meanwhile, alongside the scientific advances of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries, Western medical science was rapidly developing its knowledge of the human body along with dualistic principles, analyzing it much like a machine and focusing on its separate parts.
Reuniting mind and body
From the beginning of the 20th century, however, developments in science and philosophy began to move away from dualism, and it has become increasingly accepted throughout all areas of knowledge that mind and body are inextricably linked. The British philosopher Gilbert Ryle was influential here: he attacked Descartes’ ideas as fundamentally mistaken, famously calling them ‘the dogma of the ghost in the machine.’ Today, science is beginning to show just how intimate the mind-body relationship is. New imaging techniques are mapping the brain at work, revealing amazing discoveries about the physical neural processes that underlie mental states, emotions, and even thinking itself.
In medicine, analyzing the parts rather than the whole has paid off handsomely. It has enabled medical science to conquer many illnesses and led to people generally leading longer healthier lives. It has produced an understanding of the body and the diseases that affect it that is unrivaled in its detail and its success in diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, the evidence-based approach to assessing the effectiveness of treatments is now agreed to be the ultimate test of any type of therapy, Western or otherwise. Nevertheless, there is a growing sense that something is missing and that an integrated approach may ultimately be a more helpful way to get to the bottom of many health problems.
Increasingly, therefore, medical methods regard the mind and the body as constantly interacting. For example, patients who have mental illness are offered a range of therapies, from physical treatments like drugs to psychological approaches, such as counseling or psychotherapy. Health psychologists study how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health and illness, and health psychology practitioners help individuals make lifestyle changes that can improve their health or enable them to cope more easily with chronic illness.
Drawing on alternatives
Eastern healing systems such as Ayurvedic medicine have always assumed the interaction of mind and body. Ayurveda emphasizes that everyone has self-healing potential, facilitated by factors such as good self-esteem, a realistic understanding of one’s nature, and the desire and will to be well, which encourages a healthy diet and lifestyle, as well as other self-care techniques such as massage and meditation.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become increasingly popular in the Western world, possibly because of greater general anxiety about health across society. CAM therapies such as osteopathy, chiropractic, and herbal medicine have often fulfilled an important function in providing help and comfort to people who have not found effective treatments in conventional medicine. The potentially damaging side- effects of some potent drugs have also led people to turn to alternative medicine treatments.
Many Western medical scientists and practitioners now believe that the focus on technological approaches, including the use of drugs and surgery, needs to be balanced by more attention to the individual as a whole and the role of the mind in health. In the UK, some medical schools now give students basic information on complementary medicine, and some complementary therapies are available in doctors’ surgeries. Complementary medicines are bringing Western and Eastern healing systems together, pointing towards a more holistic approach to medicine for the future.
