http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/mind Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:49:11 -0400 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:49:11 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1853/the-brain-gut-and-consciousness-microbiology-of-our-mind By Radek Vana - We are never alone. And by this statement, I do not intend to argue for existence of some supernatural entities, aliens or God. We are never alone because we all share our bodies with trillions of symbiotic microorganisms that perform various physiological functions crucial for our health. In fact, they may be responsible for even more than that. Here, I present a view that the symbiotic microbiota is an important part of the complex system constituting our consciousness. By consciousness, I mean the type called phenomenal consciousness (Block 2002) which stands for the subjective experience of... Tue, 29 Dec 2020 12:10 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1853/the-brain-gut-and-consciousness-microbiology-of-our-mind http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1737/mindfulness-based-art-therapy-a-review-of-the-literature By Liza M. Hinchey - The concept of mindfulness, which originated from early Buddhist practices, historically encouraged an enlightening meditation that focused on awareness of one’s emotions, sensations, and consciousness (Smalley & Winston, 2010). Today, mindfulness practice continues to be defined as “an awareness of self and a capacity to reflect” (Smalley & Winston, 2010), but has branched out from its roots as a Buddhist meditation method to become integrated into psychology as a means of coping with a variety of conditions including anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, and other... Wed, 09 May 2018 05:27 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1737/mindfulness-based-art-therapy-a-review-of-the-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1676/cognitive-embodiment-and-mind-reading-in-jane-austens-persuasion By Karah L. Smith - Empirical psychology first emerged as a scientific discipline during the eighteenth century when it was launched into the academic realm by being taught in universities, appearing as chapters in philosophy manuals, and debuting as the topic of scientific journals and textbooks (Vidal 408). Psychology “then, and for the first time­­­––[was thought of] as an empirical research discipline, committed to a naturalistic perspective on the mind” (409). This perspective led to the rejection of the soul’s agency in the body claiming that thoughts could be explained... Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1676/cognitive-embodiment-and-mind-reading-in-jane-austens-persuasion http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1629/theistic-explanations-of-the-ontology-of-consciousness By Rashad Rehman - Consciousness is a thought-provoking phenomenon. In recent decades, though, the philosophy of mind has revealed consciousness to be, in the words of Thomas Nagel, "what makes the mindbody problem intractable" (Nagel, 1979). Though consciousness has made the mind-body problem seemingly intractable, to some philosophers, fi nite and irreducibly subjective conscious experiences call for an explanation (Locke, 1959). It seems to some that a scientific explanation will not and cannot provide an adequate explanation for the existence of consciousness. Although this is controversial, the important natural... Sat, 01 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1629/theistic-explanations-of-the-ontology-of-consciousness http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/801/mindfulness-and-perfectionism By Anna Handorf - Mindfulness is defined as purposefully attending to the present moment without making judgments (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Moreover, mindfulness has been closely related to the concept of “acceptance” and “awareness” (Block-Lerner, Salters-Pedneault & Tull, 2005; Cardaciotto et al, 2008). Although closely related, acceptance and awareness have different nuances and connotations that help explain and capture the concept of mindfulness. Acceptance is often defined as allowing oneself to be open to reality, and to experience events to the fullest in the present moment. Conversely... Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:42 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/801/mindfulness-and-perfectionism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/293/implications-of-the-split-brain-a-consideration-of-nagel By Ethan B. Rubin - In his article “Brain Bisection and the Unity of Consciousness,” Thomas Nagel suggests that the ordinary conception of a unified mind is misled. To support his claim, he turns to data concerning patients whose corpus callosum has been severed. Because the two hemispheres of the brain depend on the corpus callosum for direct communication, the behavior of these patients in specific experimental settings implies two centers of consciousness rather than one. Nagel proposes a series of explanations for this behavior that assume unity of the mind and rejects each in turn. He concludes that... Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/293/implications-of-the-split-brain-a-consideration-of-nagel http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/277/property-dualism-and-physicalism-unclenching-the-soldiers-fist By Ryan A. Piccirillo - From the time of the ancient Greek philosophers to modern contemporaries, the mind-body problem has been perpetually debated. With neuroscientific evidence in mind, traditional Cartesian dualism, which establishes that mental and physical substances are fundamentally distinct, has been widely abandoned for more plausible formulations of the theory. Property dualism, a far more convincing claim, suggests that while there exists only one kind of substance, there are fundamental differences in the properties of mind and matter. The formulation of property dualism which denies the causal relationship... Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/277/property-dualism-and-physicalism-unclenching-the-soldiers-fist http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1683/the-lockean-memory-theory-of-personal-identity-definition-objection-response By Ryan A. Piccirillo - In the history of discourse on the subject of the self and personal identity, conflicting viewpoints have arisen. Some suggest that the self is simply the mind which thinks; others posit that the self is identifiable with one’s body; still others claim that to even conjure an idea of the self is an impossibility. In his Essay, Locke suggests that the self is “a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places” and continues to define personal identity simply as “the sameness... Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1683/the-lockean-memory-theory-of-personal-identity-definition-objection-response