Mind and Body: Does the Self-organization of the Brain Explains the Emergence of Mental Phenomena?

Abstract

Neurobiological research has contributed importantly to the understanding of mental disorders and to the new approach to the old philosophical problems. The brain structure is an example of complex self-organized system. Synergetics is the science of self-organization and deals with phenomena which are crucial for the understanding of our brain. This is shown in the synergetic model of mental processes which clarifies how psychic structures are stabilized in the relationship between the self and the environment. The self-organization of neurons is a prerequisite for the emergence of consciousness and for the coordination of the self. It can happen that we will not find the appropriate bridge between mental and physical phenomena although our understanding of the correlation between neurobiological and mental processes is constantly growing. It can happen that the difference between the first person and the third person perspective will remain the basic difference and independent of all scientific knowledge. Although the different versions of emergentism in the relation to the mind –brain problem don’t offer final solutions, the theory of self-organization offers the models of the different levels of emergence (for example their dynamic synchronization and desynchronization) and considers the time dimension in the evolution of the process, functional and structural patterns on the different time scales.