Biological naturalism as a theory of mind puts the problem of mind-body dualism and the related context of consciousness in a new perspective. It provides a broad naturalistic framework for the explanation of consciousness and other mental phenomena. The theory is based on the hypothesis that mental phenomena are caused by and realized in the brain processes. Moreover, as Searle defines his theory, “Mental phenomena are caused by the neurophysiological processes in the brain and are themselves features of the brain. To distinguish the view from many others in the field, I call it “biological naturalism”. Mental events and processes are as much a part of the biological natural history as digestion, mitosis, or enzyme secretion.”¹ Let’s try to explicate the theory with its etymological meaning. The theory is called biological because it deals with the neurophysiology of the brain as the central part of the human organism. This theory is a part of a biological worldview and this worldview is based on the theory of evolution. The human life is manifested in the evolutionary process of the universe. On the other hand, the natural aspect of the theory shows that the brain, as the central part of the human organism causes mental life. The mental life is comprised of both conscious and unconscious activities of the brain. The conscious aspects include conscious and unconscious mental states along with their basic features, like intentionality, subjectivity, free will, etc. whereas the unconscious aspects of brain signify its neurophysiological functions. That is to say, the brain embodies a certain causal capacity to produce consciousness. And it is a part of the natural process of the brain causing consciousness and other conscious features. For instance, mitosis as a natural process in the living organism manifests the causal efficacy of a cell. That is, the continuous division of a cell helps in the very growth of a living body. And this precisely shows that there is life in the body. Similarly, the brain causing consciousness is as natural as the principle of mitosis explaining the multiple growths of cells. The growth of cells in an organism thus bears an independent function, like the brain causing consciousness.
¹ John R. Searle, The Rediscovery of the Mind, The MIT Press, Massachusetts, The Bradford Book, 1993, p.1
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