Are thoughts transcendant?

I was just standing in my kitchen cleaning the dishes when a thought came over me. I started thinking about the nature of thinking. (For some reason, doing the dishes gives me time to reflect. Hey, I'm sure my wife won't complain about that)Neurology has made strident advances over the decades helping us to understand all of the intricacies of the brain. But there is still so much not yet understood about the human mind.This got me thinking about an old argument I had with a true skeptic who simply had to rationalize everything with biology. The argument was about love. I asked him what love was. He proceeded to give me some canned, unemotional response about areas of the brain light up under an MRI when shown pictures of loved ones. This, apparently, was tantamount to love to him-- firing synapses.I countered that what was detected surely was not itself love, only evidence of the brain reacting to love. Sure, the pictures likely gave him pleasant thoughts which released endorphins, thus culminating in an ultimate happy and euphoric state. But that explained nothing about love itself, and moreover, what exactly it is.More than that, it did nothing to explain thoughts.Thoughts... What are they, really?We've never witnessed anyone's thoughts. At most we see evidence of someone in the process of thinking. We understand cognitive maps, especially since most us have the ability to retain them. But there is still so much about thoughts that seem almost transcendent-- separate from the brain.Is the mind and the brain different? Sure, they are intimately connected. But is it possible that where the brain dies, the mind transcends? Edited by nemesis_juggernaut, : No reason given.

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"It is better to shun the bait, than struggle in the snare." -Ravi Zacharias

Do you wish to approach this topic scientifically or philosophically?or a wee bit of both. Miss topics?

A wee bit of both, good sir. MiscTop is fine. I can't think of anywhere more appropriate.

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"It is better to shun the bait, than struggle in the snare." -Ravi Zacharias

Thread copied to the Are thoughts transcendant? thread in the Miscellaneous Topics in Creation/Evolution forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.