THE "MENTAL BODY" AS A CLINICAL EXPRESSION OF THE MIND: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF THE MIND
Keywords:
mental body, hypnosis, hysteria, mind, narcolepsy, mind-body relations, (metaphysica).Abstract
The author proposes an alterna tive approach to the study of the mind, based on the concept of "mental body". At the present time, the mind is seen as an assemblage of specific functions carried out by the brain. However, this current model conceives the mind in a manner that is apparently incompatible with the organism as a whole. Using neurological semiology, the author seeks to demonstrate the existence of a "mental body", which is expressed in severa/ clinica/ situations, such as hysteria, hypnosis, narcolepsy, phantom limb, and the out-of-body experiences. The author argues that his method of studying the mind, from the perspective of a body that is semio/ogically identified, may open a wide fie/d of experimentation and interpretation of psychologica/, as we/1 as neurologica/, phenomena.
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