Observations placeholder
Spinoza, Baruch - Ethics - The autonomic system
Identifier
001781
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Spinoza noticed the unique functionality of the body as opposed to the 'mind'. He recognised that the body has its own functions [digestion, beating of heart, temperature control, breathing, etc] which are functions separate from those of the 'mind' such as memory, planning, 'thinking'.
The mind functions apply to the human as a whole, whereas body functions apply to each organ – the heart beats, the stomach digests, the bladder empties itself, the lungs breathe, the liver purifies waste – and the functions happen without the mind being involved.
A description of the experience
Baruch Spinoza - Ethics
Neither can the body determine the mind to think, nor the mind determine the body to motion or rest or anything else (if such there be)