Implications of the current insolubility of the mind-brain problem for the contemporary practice of psychodynamic psychiatry.
The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry January 1, 2009 Richard D Chessick
Despite advances in neuroscience, there is no consensus on how the brain generates the mind, a problem that also puzzled Freud. No progress has been made on the 'hard problem' of how brain processes produce conscious experiences, feelings, and intentions (qualia). This review describes major contemporary positions on the mind-brain problem, from Freud's Project to today. The author concludes that 'mysterian' positions or derivatives such as 'anomalous monism' or 'agnostic materialism' are most plausible given current knowledge. These suggest we do not yet know enough about the physical world of matter, though future discoveries may help. Currently, the introspective data of consciousness are ontologically subjective, requiring study in their own domain through introspection, for which psychoanalytic psychiatry is the most meticulous method.