y conclusion will echo that of a materialist, mentalist, or something different altogether remains to be seen.As I initially ask myself to define my personage, the phrase “I think, therefore I am” pops unsolicited into my mind. Descartes, an obvious mentalist, had a point when he muttered these now-famous words. Indeed, a person is inarguably a thinking thing. If I were not, tasks like writing this paper would be irrelevant, not to mention far less painstaking. The mind and its processes are indubitably things that make up what I consider my self. My mind is the machine that produces my thoughts and ideas, and it houses the knowledge that allows me to reason logically, a characteristic that sets human beings apart from other forms of life. I certainly don’t think of a tree or a rock as a person, and that is because these objects show no signs of mental activity. The day that I see a tree with a calculus book hanging from its branches computing the value of an integral is the day that I check myself into an asylum. However, the power of my mind allows ME to solve that integral, and when I do, I am proud of mySELF. The actions of my mind define not only how I view my own person, but also how others view me as a person. With this thought, my mind is intruded upon by another thought: other people aren’t seeing my MIND—they’re seeing and reacting to my physical body. As I turn to face the mirror that is to the left of my desk, I am met with a reflection that can only be called myself, the reflection of the person called Leah. In this mirror, I am unable to see my mind, nor can I see those mental activities that are inevitably occurring. I see a girl with blue eyes and brown hair. I see a body. With this, I am reminded of another characteristic that sets human beings apart from rocks and trees, and that is the ability to actively interact and communicate with other human beings. Again, it w...
