The mind-body problem asks “How can something material interact with something immaterial?” That is, how can an immaterial mind/spirit influence a material body? This question has perplexed scholars for ages, and it is a question that I am sure resulted in many sleepless nights for Descartes after he proposed a mind-body dualism. Descartes’ mind-body dualism was that humans are composed of two distinct realities, the physical and the mind/spiritual. Sounds good. The only problem is, how does the mind influence the body, and vice versa?
Descartes solution was that the interaction between mind and body took place in the pineal gland located near the center of the human brain. This seems like a logical choice (I mean, it is much better than the first joint in the big toe), but he was wrong. I am sure that Descartes is now aware of fact that the pineal gland is a melatonin-producing endocrine gland, not the center of mind-body interaction. And if Descartes has been attending the wonderful general conferences that are going on in the spirit world (and listening to great modern-day prophets), he also knows the solution to the mind/spirit-body problem. The solution is that the spirit is capable of influencing a material body because it too is material, only more refined, a fact that may be self-evident to those living in the spirit world.
As latter-day saints we can put the issue of the mind-body problem to rest, which is good because I would like to move onto a new problem: the intelligence-matter problem.
The intelligence-matter problem is this: How does a seemingly non-material intelligence interact with physical material?
Of course, the whole essence of the intelligence-matter problem relies on an accurate understanding of intelligence. Compared to our knowledge of spirits (which is not extensive), we know very little about intelligences, that primordial essence of humanity.
Here are a few of my assumptions regarding intelligences.
1. Intelligences are eternal.
2. Intelligence is found in all matter.
3. Intelligence, as the word suggests, has the ability to ‘understand’ God.
4. Intelligence obeys God’s commands (this makes miracles possible, e.g., water to wine)
5. Intelligence does not posses moral agency, so it cannot intentionally disobey God.
6. Humans once existed as nothing more than intelligence.
The intelligence-matter problem comes into play with #2 and #4. Intelligence exists in matter and is capable of making its matter act in accordance with God’s will, such as when God searched out matter containing the sort of intelligence needed to create human spirits, and ordered it to form into spirit bodies – the intelligences obeyed and you and I became sentient, spiritual beings.
I admit that I have characterized the intelligence-matter problem as a sort of “ghost in the machine” problem that led to the mind-body problem, only this time the ‘ghost’ is a seemingly immaterial intelligence and the ‘machine’ is matter. Yet, if intelligences are in fact physical material, then why do the scriptures make a distinction between “intelligence” and “matter”.
Then again, I may be wrong.
Any thougths?
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