Page "Mind" Paragraph 5

A long tradition of inquiries in philosophy, religion, psychology and cognitive science has sought to develop an understanding of what mind is and what are its distinguishing properties.

The main questions regarding the nature of mind is its relation to the physical brain and nervous system – a question which is often framed as the Mind-body problem, which considers whether mind is somehow separate from physical existence ( dualism and idealism ), deriving from and reducible to physical phenomena such as neurological processes ( physicalism ), or whether the mind is identical with the brain or some activity of the brain.

Another question concerns which types of being are capable of having minds, for example whether mind is exclusive to humans, possessed also by some or all animals, by all living things, or whether mind can also be a property of some types of man-made machines.