The Mind-Body View
In our current Western scientific view of being human, we put everything about our body in the physical sciences folder and everything not about our body in the psychological sciences folder. We have only two folders: one for body, another for mind. It's a crude, simplistic system.
Questioning the Mind-Body View
One problem with this view is that we associate everything in the psychological sciences folder with "mind." When we look closer at everything associated with "mind" questions arise: Is associating our spirit with our mind the best way to view either our spirit or our mind? Is associating our instincts, desires, drives, and emotions with our mind the best way to view them? Is all of our self-talk limited to our mind?
My answer to all of these questions is "no."
Proposing a New View
I propose a third folder: one for spirit. Everything about our spirit goes into the thumological sciences folder.
And what might go in the thumological folder? Everything associated with spirit, that which makes alive: our spirit itself; our instincts, desires and drives (to live, associate, eat, drink, have sex, reproduce, nurture, protect); our emotions that fuel and express our desires and drives (fear, anger, sadness, joy, guilt and others); and our self-talk directed at these things.
Some Benefits of the New View
I believe this three-folder view makes possible a more elegant and refined view of what it means to be human. It affirms our spirit and helps us see our instincts, drives, desires, emotions, and some of our self-talk in a new light, the light of our spirit. It also helps us see how our spirit relates to both our body and our mind.
In upcoming posts, I'll say more about how our instincts, desires, drives, emotions, and some of our self-talk are matter of our spirit.
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