How Would A Brain Transplant Work?

[Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam]

[quote name='kafka' date='13 June 2010 - 09:07 PM' timestamp='1276474064' post='2128295']
I rethought this. I do not think this is good thinking on my part. I think the problem is beyond me. The brain is among the most complex things God has created. And who can clearly explain the living interaction and connection between the body and soul? Impossible.
[/quote]

Kafka, you should read Rahner's [i]Spirit in the World[/i]. He does a spectacular job of dealing with the issue and balancing everything. I mentioned his view in my post on the first page when I talk about the scholastics since Rahner quotes the scholastics and begins there and then draws a few more conclusions. I think he is right in these conclusions though. In the book, he draws mostly from Aristotle's [i]De Anima[/i] and from Thomas's [i]Summa[/i]. It is spectacular. I did a short paper on it. If you want me to send you a copy, I can. I'd love to here what you have to say.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='apparently' date='13 June 2010 - 08:18 PM' timestamp='1276478298' post='2128354']
[media][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ_pKqiB5Rg"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=dQ_pKqiB5Rg[/url][/media]
[/quote]
I highly recommend the original text. Pop media hasn't been kind to a very well written story.

[zunshynn]

This is basically a non-issue, because even if a brain transplant became a technologically easy thing to do, it would never be morally acceptable to remove the brain of a patient that wasn't dead, and the brain of a person that was dead would not be useful for a transplant because, well, the brain would be dead.

[Apotheoun]

From the [i]Man with Two Brains[/i]:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90iR2wWeojk[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r4rS0yzQ1M[/media]

[Socrates]

[quote name='Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam' date='13 June 2010 - 12:45 AM' timestamp='1276404331' post='2127986']
The mind and the brain are not synonymous. The mind/soul is the animating principle and I would argue is comprise of two different parts Intellect or rational soul and will or animal soul. The intellect is supposed to direct the will.
[/quote]
I've gotten a bit rusty in my Scholastic philosophy, but I don't think the "two different parts of the soul" or "rational soul/animal soul" bit jives with Thomistic thought.
The soul is the simple and immaterial form of the body's matter and cannot be composed of different parts. Intellect and will are two aspects or attributes of the human soul which are both shared with angels and God Himself, neither of which has an animal nature.

Of all creatures, only angels and humans have intellect and free will, properly understood. Free will means we are free moral agents, capable of choosing good or evil, which the lower animals are not. Will is not a lower attribute of the animals.

[Socrates]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='12 June 2010 - 08:43 PM' timestamp='1276389837' post='2127873']
However, should either Winchester or Socrates find themselves in my body, they would have the consolation that the nearest Catholic church is only 3 blocks away. Just make sure to feed my cats and give them (my cats) 10 mg of prednisone each every evening. You will have to give the cats the pills by hand. They've never bitten me, but there is always a first time. Enjoy! [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif[/img]
[/quote]
I'll be sure to remember that, just in case.

Because it's always best to be prepared. You never know.

[Winchester]

[quote name='Socrates' date='14 June 2010 - 01:23 PM' timestamp='1276536187' post='2128585']
I'll be sure to remember that, just in case.

Because it's always best to be prepared. You never know.
[/quote]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgM7DFbeBQY&feature=related[/media]

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' date='14 June 2010 - 12:27 AM' timestamp='1276432026' post='2128043']
I wonder if, in receiving another person's brain, you would also receive their memories and lose your own? You would still have the same spirit, but subjectively, you would think you were the other person.
[/quote]

Seems to be more applicable to consciousness. Memories are stored in the brain and presumably the soul would also haunt that area. It should be looked at more in the light of a body transplant than a brain transplant. ref 'The man with two heads'

Edited June 15, 2010 by Mark of the Cross

[Ziggamafu]

Another fun one. Just revisiting some of my old posts and haunts. Are there any philosophers in here anymore? I may be nearly a decade older, but I still dig explorations of fringe theology for fun.

[Jack4]

On 6/13/2010 at 4:14 AM, Nihil Obstat said:

1) "Self" is somehow attached to the brain, so the self transfers to the new body.
2) "Self" is somehow attached to the body, so the self does not move (although may or may not have a new set of experiences and/or due to a new physical brain).
3) "Self" is attached to a combination of brain and body, so two people die and two new ones are created.
4) "Self" is attached to a combination of brain and body, so two people die and we are left with a pile of dead tissue.

@Nihil Obstat  - I miss him!

#3 does not seem possible. #4 seems like an "unsuccessful" brain transplant. #1 and #2 remain. 

[Luigi]

How would a brain transplant work? 

The short answer is: It wouldn't. 

[Nihil Obstat]

On 1/21/2019 at 9:51 PM, Jack4 said:

@Nihil Obstat  - I miss him!

#3 does not seem possible. #4 seems like an "unsuccessful" brain transplant. #1 and #2 remain. 

Hi, Jack. I signed in on a whim this evening and happened to see this notification. Funny coincidence.

[Jack4]

You're one of the phew people in the phamily that I miss - others had lepht even before I joined. 

[Nihil Obstat]

I am touched.  Since I stopped posting I have completed my philosophy degree, started to get pretty deeply into photography, and have been listening very intently to Fr. Ripperger's sermons and conferences.

[Anomaly]

Most importantly, how are you both enjoying family life?

[Nihil Obstat]

It has been a really nice development. Yvey is a very easy baby to deal with, so I think we are parenting on easy mode thus far. She sleeps soundly, does not really cry for no reason, very pleasant and happy baby.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Nihil Obstat

[Lilllabettt]

21 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

It has been a really nice development. Yvey is a very easy baby to deal with, so I think we are parenting on easy mode thus far. She sleeps soundly, does not really cry for no reason, very pleasant and happy baby.

Cute baby. How do you pronounce that?

[Nihil Obstat]

Yvette, but Yvey/Eevie for short. Named after her great great aunt, and under St. Ivo of Kermartin's patronage.

[Ice_nine]

On 1/24/2019 at 9:07 PM, Nihil Obstat said:

Fr. Ripperger's sermons and conferences.

Just googled him. Curious, is he a creationist (in the sense that he denies evolution/ portrays it as demonic)?

I know you're a trad, and lots of trads (on pockets of the interwebs) seem to espouse this anti-science stance. At least on this topic. I wonder do you happen to fall into that camp? It's just genuine curiosity on my end. Maybe it's not a topic of particular interest to you.

[Nihil Obstat]

1 hour ago, Ice_nine said:

Just googled him. Curious, is he a creationist (in the sense that he denies evolution/ portrays it as demonic)?

I know you're a trad, and lots of trads (on pockets of the interwebs) seem to espouse this anti-science stance. At least on this topic. I wonder do you happen to fall into that camp? It's just genuine curiosity on my end. Maybe it's not a topic of particular interest to you.

I am not sure where he is on young earth creationism. I know he is against evolution in some sense. From what I can tell his view on that is highly specific and nuanced.

My approach is, I like I think, taken from St. Thomas Aquinas when he wrote that science answers scientific questions, and we ought to be careful not to make unbelievers think we are stupid. I believe that is a bit of a paraphrase.

I do not lose sleep over it. God created in whatever way He chose, and left what evidence He did.