Philosophical Writings

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Academy of Philosophy

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Philosophy and Medicine: The Indian Standpoint
Ayurveda in particular has accepted yoga's capacity to cure chronic patients for a long time and thus it has its unique place throughout the world, including India.
8. Modern Science and Indian Medicine
Ancient indian medical science is perhaps one of India's richest treasures. For centuries it was not taken seriously by the West. With the development of modern science and humanistic psychology, the entire approach has changed. Sciences which were based on pure external objective researches created an alarming situation. Great scientists and philosophers of science such as, Einstein, Henry Bergson, Alexis Carel, Ivan Illich, Fritjof Capra, Schoendinger, Heizenberg, David Bohm and others in the west made people turn towards integral and holistic medicine. Indian medicine integrated the spiritual context of life; thus it became very significant to the world. Let us consider the latest research in modern medical science. These examples show that the principles and speculations of the Indian medical schools were of great significance.21
8.1. About the Brain and the Mind
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In the 1990's, termed "the decade of the Brain" by the international scientific community, there have been some dramatic advances in our understanding of how the human brain functions, how it generates our thoughts, emotions, behaviour and why there are differences between a man's and a woman's brain. The advanced study of the biochemistry of brain cells has brought us a long way from Aristotle who believed that the brain was to cool overheated blood. "Modern science now feels that no study of the brain will be complete unless there is some understanding about the realm of mind. Where is the mind located? How does it work? Does is arise purely from physical processes? Or is it something else closer to the metaphysical and the spiritual? "Plato believed that the mind was in the head, while Aristotle asserted it was in the heart. French Philosopher Rene Descartes believed that the mind (soul), though situated in the brain, was somehow an independent