Essay About Kind Of Thing And Different Kinds Of Things

Dualism
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Its all about how to relate mind to matter: Are they somehow the SAME
kind of thing? In that case there is just ONE kind of thing, and you are
a monist.
Or are they two different kinds of things? In that case you are a
dualist.
What is matter? Its that hard and soft and liquid and gaseous stuff all
around, including the tiny bits, like electrons and phtons, and the huge
ones, like stars. “Matter” includes all the physical forces, like
electromagnetism, gravity, and of course properties like mass, momentum,
etc. Matter is not the problem.
What is mind? Feelings. We all know what its like to have feelings:
pain, fear, seeing yellow, understanding English, knowing that
2 + 2 = 4, wanting a glass of water, flexing a finger: For all these
things, theres something they FEEL LIKE, and having a mind is just
having those feelings, often also called consciousness, awareness,
experience.
The mind/body or mind/matter problem is: What are feelings? If you are a
monist you think feelings are some kind of matter (perhaps like
magnetism?); if you are a dualist,