The Mind-Body Problem

What has become known in philosophy as the 'mind-body problem' is, in fact, best regarded as a collection of related problems. The 'item' problem is the problem of understanding the nature of mental items. The category of mental items, in turn, breaks down into two basic sorts: mental 'types' or kinds of mental state, and mental 'tokens' - concrete, dated, nonrepeatable instances of those kinds. Accordingly, the mind-body problem comprises two distinct item problems. The 'essence' problem is that of understanding the nature of the defining features of the mental - and traditionally these have been understood as 'consciousness' and 'intentionality'. Accordingly, the mind-body problem also comprises two distinct essence problems. This article examines these mind-body problems.