Odisea, nº 20, ISSN 1578-3820, 2019, 35-52
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND IS NOT ON YOUR
BRAIN – HOPEFULLY
Pa ick J Du ley, Uni e si é La al, Canada
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Recei ed: Decembe 9, 2019
Accep ed: Decembe 17, 2019
The ema kable p og ess in human neu ophysiology has led some esea che s o add ess
he body-mind ques ion by a emp ing o de i e he men al om he physical, and o speak
consequen ly o “how he b ain c ea es he mind” (c . Damasio 1999). This poses he p oblem
o how a me e ne wo k o elec ochemical ci cui y could e e se i sel he ask o ying
o unde s and i s own ope a ions, as Damasio is ying o do in his esea ch, a p ojec which
p esupposes sel -consciousness, i.e. he abili y o s and ou side onesel and iew one’s own
Abs ac : The mind-body ques ion is equen ly amed in e ms o “how he b ain
c ea es he mind” (Damasio 1999). The goal o his pape will be o con ibu e o he
deba e by a linguis ic s udy o he wo ds mind and b ain, using da a d awn om he
B i ish Na ional Co pus, he Ox o d English Dic iona y, he Co pus o Con empo a y
Ame ican and Webs e ’s Dic iona y. E idence shows ha he olk-concep s o ‘mind’
and ‘b ain’ imply he causal p io i y o he men al o e he physical. This con e ges wi h
he conclusions o Pen ield (1966), who p oposed ha “one migh well say ha he b ain
o man is molded by his mind,” a posi ion also de ended by Eccles 1994.
Keywo ds: colloca ions, co pus linguis ics, mind-body ques ion, sel -consciousness,
olk-concep s
Resumen: El p oblema men e-cue po se p esen a con ecuencia en é minos de “cómo
el ce eb o c ea la men e” (Damasio 1999). El obje i o de es e abajo es con ibui al
deba e median e un es udio lingüís ico de las palab as b ain y mind, a pa i de da os
ex aídos del Co pus Nacional B i ánico, el Dicciona io Inglés de Ox o d, el Co pus de
Inglés Amé icano Con empo áneo y el Dicciona io de Webs e . La e idencia lingüís ica
mues a que los concep os popula es de ‘mind’ y ‘b ain’ implican la p io idad causal de
lo men al sob e lo ísico. Es o coincide con las conclusiones de Pen ield (1966), quien
p opuso que “uno pod ía deci que el ce eb o del homb e es moldeado po su men e”,
una posición ambién de endida po Eccles 1994.
Palab as cla e: colocaciones, lingüís ica de co pus, cues ión men e-cue po,
au oconciencia, concep os popula es
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pe son om he an age-poin o someone else. Jaki (1989: 220-221) a gues ha such sel -
consciousness is s ic ly impossible o any en i y ha is composed en i ely o physical pa s,
as i would en ail ha one pa o ha en i y would ha e o be ou side o he en i y i sel , i.e.
no pa o he en i y – an ob ious me aphysical impossibili y. The non- educibili y o he
men al o he physical demons a ed by Jaki’s a gumen opens up he possibili y ha he chain
o causali y migh low in he opposi e di ec ion om ha posi ed by Damasio, a posi ion
de ended by Eccles 1994 in his book How he Sel Con ols i s B ain and co obo a ed by ou
daily expe ience o eely-willed bodily ac ions. As physicis and philosophe An oine Sua ez
(2008: 4) pu s i , i b ain ope a ions a e me e physical p ocesses comple ely de e mined by he
pas his o y o he physical uni e se, i is no clea how hey can p oduce he desi e o ‘no
being comple ely de e mined by he pas ’ cha ac e is ic o human beings in hei uni e sal
ques o eedom.
The goal o his pape will be o con ibu e o he deba e by a linguis ic s udy o he
wo ds mind and b ain in English and he a ious colloca ions in which hese wo nouns a e
ound, wi h a iew o desc ibing he olk-concep s a ached o hese wo ds (in he sense o
Wie zbicka 1992). The da a will be d awn om bo h co po a and majo dic iona ies o bo h
B i ish and Ame ican English – he B i ish Na ional Co pus (BNC) and he Ox o d English
Dic iona y (OED) o B i ish usage, and he Co pus o Con empo a y Ame ican (COCA) and
he Webs e ’s Thi d In e na ional Dic iona y (W3D) o Ame ican. A o al o 1000 okens we e
examined om he wo co po a – 250 o each o he wo nouns in each o he wo co po a.
The i s inding o eme ge om he examina ion o he co pus da a was ha o e 70%
o he uses o he noun b ain e e ed o he physical o gan, in bo h a ie ies o English:
ypical con ex s we e ep esen ed by sequences such as b ain umou , b ain su geon, koalas
ha e small b ains compa ed o o he ma supials, e c. In con as , he noun mind was ne e
used o e e o he o gan loca ed in he human skull – an obse a ion con i med bo h by
he OED and he W3D, nei he o which eco ds his sense o his lexical i em. The la e
was ound o e e a he o memo y ( o keep in mind), hough (wha is on you mind?)
and in en ion (I had a mind o call he igh hen and he e). I was obse ed in he co pus
ne e heless ha he noun b ain was used in a numbe o con ex s e e ing o he men al
ealm. In such uses, i seemed p ac ically synonymous wi h he noun mind. In mos o hese
cases, he mo i a ion behind he choice o he noun e e ing o he ce eb al o gan could
be disce ned ai ly easily om he con ex . Thus in he ollowing ins ances he b ain is
opposed o some o he body pa , wi h bo h o gans being gi en a me apho ical cons ual:
(1) I’m p epa ed o ollow my hea a he han my b ain and p edic a win (1-0)
agains A senal onigh . (BNC)
(2) … said Tom Kean ca e ully, eading he pape again o con ince his b ain as well
as his eyes. (BNC)
(3) Explo e he ci y in chunks ha a e easy on he ee and he b ain. (BNC)
(4) The objec i e o he pa y was “ o secu e o he p oduce s by hand o by b ain he
ull ui s o hei indus y, and he mos equi able dis ibu ion he eo …” (BNC)
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Wha ’s on You Mind Is No on You B ain – Hope ully
Pa ick J Du ley
In one case, a co ela ion was made wi h he whole body, o which he b ain is bu
one pa :
(5) When you su Pipe, you’ e go o be eady. You body’s go o be in ha mony
wi h you b ain. (BNC)
In ano he case, he noun b ain was used in co ela ion wi h he noun mind o p o ide
a synonym which a oided he epe i ion o he same wo d in close sequence:
(6) my mind was in a u moil, and my b ain was pe haps a li le numbed. (BNC)
The colloca ion mind * numb occu s 9 imes in COCA, while b ain * numb is less
equen , occu ing only 3 imes ( he BNC showed no o he ins ances o b ain * numb(ed)
besides example (6) abo e). Whe eas wi h mind he adjec i e numb has o be in e p e ed
me apho ically, his is no so clea ly he case wi h b ain in (6), as a physiological s a e
migh be in ended he e, wi h he loss o men al acui y being cons ued as a consequence
o his s a e.
O he cases o possible ambigui y be ween physical and men al e e ence we e also
ound. In (7), he use o he e b ope a es, and he pa allel d awn wi h he hea e ’s g ey
ma e sugges howe e a p edominance o he o ganic deno a ion:
(7) To mee him is o con on he unexpec ed and a b ain ha ope a es so quickly you
need o engage you own g ey ma e a he gallop. (BNC)
Simila ly in (8) below he allusion o audibili y, and in (9), he image o he jamming o
a mechanism, also sugges a physical e e ence, which may be ans e ed o a me apho ical
a ge in hese ins ances:
(8) he s ood in ap ecalcula ion, you could almos hea his b ain wo king. (BNC)
(9) she is lea ning o be pa ien wi h he sel when, as she pu s i , he b ain “ge s
s uck”. (BNC)
In (10) below, an ad o a ail company’s passenge se ice, e en hough he b ain is
cha ac e ized as comp ehending a clue in he i s sen ence, in he subsequen con ex i is
ea ed as a physical objec ha can be placed in a a ic jam on he M1, opposed o he
mind, and ha has a le side:
(10) You ne e know in he bliss ul silence o you ain you b ain migh ac ually
comp ehend a clue in he Mephis o c osswo d. I will p obably ake wo jou neys
be o e you ac ually ge an answe . Now i you’d pu ha b ain in a i e mile ail
back on he M1 i would p obably ha e gone ou o i s mind. Especially he le
side, which is in cha ge o logic.
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O he colloca es implying ha he b ain is cons ued as a physical o physiological en i y
include he e bs use (11) and ha e (12), he adjec i e i eless (13), and he p eposi ional
ph ase om b ain o pape (14), which pu s he b ain on he same le el as pape as one o
he limi s de ining a physical mo ion:
(11) The c ea o o he documen has used his b ain. (BNC)1
(12) Rocky knew which way o pu his cashca d in o he hole ... implying he had a b ain
and he e o e could hink o himsel . (BNC)2
(13) Many and a ied we e he pe sonali ies behind A senal’s phenomenal success,
and s udying hem cons an ly was he i eless b ain o socce ’s Napoleon, o e e
wo king ou how o ge he bes om each o his playe s. (BNC)
(14) The wo d-p ocesso is a e y powe ul ool o he ans e o hough om b ain
o pape . (BNC)
Finally, ou cases we e ound in which he noun b ain was used in he cons uc ion
o a physically-based me apho :
(15) Ou small ( eeds wo) eggplan pa mesan ($17.99) was enough o open a us y
nos algia al e in my b ain. (COCA)
(16) when you haul ou a poem om he b ain’s back oom, i eels like you own i .
(COCA)
(17) She p esc ibed a massage. S ands o Chinese music looped hei way a ound my
b ain like a spide ’s web. (BNC)
(18) I was alking o him, picking his b ain, asking him some ques ions. (COCA)
He e he sou ce o he me apho is he physical ealm, and b ain unc ions i s o
all on his le el o con ibu e o building up a physical scena io, which is hen applied
me apho ically o a a ge belonging o he men al domain.
The noun b ain can also be used o unambiguously deno e he mind, as in hese ins ances:
(19) is a he e y op o all his ca ee , and has a e y sound ac ical b ain. (BNC)
(20) ying o psyche mysel up o Wild Palms – you need you b ain on ull ale o
make head o ail o i . (BNC)
1 C . he common exp ession o use one’s head, meaning ‘ o apply one’s common sense o a p oblem’.
2 No e he e how he possession o he o gan o hough is cons ued as allowing i s possesso o pe o m he
ac ion o which his o gan is designed.
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(21) he h ew himsel in o his wo k and e en ually, wi h a good b ain and a de e mina ion
o achie e, ob ained a quali ica ion o become a su geon. (BNC)
(22) an angle wi h an ac i e b ain … has no go enough challenge wi h one species.
(BNC)
He e he no ion o he o gan is used o e oke he men al acul y associa ed he ewi h,
and he noun mind could be eadily subs i u ed. Mind was also ound o be able o ill in o
b ain a e he p eposi ion h ough (23-24) and he ph asal e b u n o (25):
(23) I was he mos biza e hing I ha e e e wi nessed. Powe ul images aged h ough
my b ain. (BNC)
(24) The idea o he i s excu sion lashed h ough his b ain as he amped ac oss he
middle o England om Ma ke Ha bo ough o Leices e . (BNC)
(25) “F agile,” he said. “I am going o u n my b ain o and s agge downhill now. Tha
was kind o a big deal.” (COCA)
Such con ex s show he close associa ion be ween he mind and he b ain, a es ed in he
dic iona y sou ces in he exp essions b ain/mind candy, meaning ‘some hing en e aining
bu no in ellec ually demanding’, and b ain/mind ood, used in he sense o ‘some hing ha
s imula es he mind’. Wha is o in e es o ou discussion he e is ha whe eas he noun
b ain can be used me apho ically o e e o he mind, he e e se is ne e he case. Since
he na u al di ec ion o me apho is om conc e e o abs ac (c . Lako and Johnson 1980),
his indica es ha b ain is he conc e e e m and mind he abs ac one. This is con i med
on he g amma ical le el by he ac ha he noun mind is equen ly used wi h no a icle
o deno e an abs ac unbounded s a e, as in o bea in mind, whe eas his is ne e he case
wi h he noun b ain. The la e can howe e be cons ued as non-coun in cases such as:
(26) The e’s a small pa o he popula ion e iden ly ha eels ha i you ea b ain you
can become mo e in elligen . (COCA)
The e e ence ne e heless emains e y clea ly physical in his case.
Con i ma ion o he abs ac s. conc e e dis inc ion be ween he wo nouns is also
o be ound in he e y di e en e ec s p oduced by applying he adjec i e igh o hem.
Applied o mind, his adjec i e has he sense o ‘cha ac e ized by no mali y’ (W3D), and
e e s o he unc ioning o he in ellec ual acul ies; applied o b ain, on he o he hand,
he adjec i e exp esses he idea o a physical loca ion opposed o ‘le ’:
(27) Who in his igh mind would kill people indisc imina ely? (COCA)
(28) bo h le and igh b ain mus be ac i a ed. (COCA)
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The e b in ec exhibi s a simila dis inc ion. Wi h b ain as i s di ec objec , he in ec ion
is unde s ood o be ha o a physical i us o bac e ium:
(29) I he su geon hough is unable o pe o m his du ies p ope ly, o example i HIV
in ec s his b ain o he’s coughing up ube cle bacilli because o pneumonia …
he e’s no way a hospi al would con inue o allow a doc o o ope a e unde such
ci cums ances. (BNC)
Wi h mind, howe e , he in ec ion mus be cons ued me apho ically:
(30) Baseball c ea es doub . Failu e in ec s he mind. (COCA)
The non-physical na u e o he mind also explains why you can change you mind in
he winkling o an eye, bu you canno change you b ain – a leas no in he p esen s a e
o medical science.
In he olk-concep o he mind a es ed by he linguis ic da a in English, he la e is
concei ed u he mo e as being supe io o he body, and consequen ly o he b ain which
is pa o he la e . This is mani es ed in he popula dic um mind o e ma e , which e e s
o he mind’s abili y o o e come he ine ia and esis ance associa ed wi h he ma e ial
ealm, and o he ac ha i is he mind ha con ols he body:
(31) MIND OVER MATTER: The placebo e ec is well-documen ed, jus hinking ha
he pill will ha e a medical e ec on you makes i so. (COCA)
I is signi ican in his espec ha he noun mind is 4.4 imes mo e equen han b ain in
he whole BNC and 2.4 imes mo e equen in COCA: his mani es s he g ea e ole played
by he mind in human li e and expe ience, and i s con ol o e he b ain, which con e ges
wi h he conclusions o Canadian neu ologis Wilde Pen ield, who held ha wi h espec
o language “one migh well say ha he b ain o man is molded by his mind” (1966: 236).
Ano he aspec o he supe io i y o mind o e b ain esides in he ac ha he o me
is ee o a el beyond he expe ien ial limi s o p esen ime and cu en loca ion, as
a es ed by (32) below:
(32) The lowe s we e lo ely ou -o -season ones, and hey ook he mind back mo e
han 30 yea s o he May baske in which Dick had hidden he . (COCA)
Indeed, he mind is ee o wande o d i , while he b ain is u e ly unable o mo e
om i s loca ion inside i s p op ie o ’s c anial ca i y. The colloca ion ee mind occu s 12
imes in he co po a; in con as , he adjec i e ee ne e colloca es wi h he noun b ain a
all in ei he co pus.
This b ings us o he i le o his pape , and o he di e ence be ween ha ing umou s
on one’s mind as opposed o ha ing umou s on one’s b ain. Wi h he conc e e noun b ain,
he en i y e e ed o is he physical o gan and he umou s a e consequen ly unde s ood
o be physical g ow hs on his o gan. Wi h he noun mind, on he o he hand, umou s a e
no cons ued as lumps o cance ous cells g owing on he mind bu a he as a me e idea
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occupying he conscious ocus o he pe son’s hough s, wi h he p eposi ion on ep esen ing
consciousness as a su ace, i.e. he isible pa o some hing which has o he s a a below he
su ace ha a e hidden om conscious awa eness. Thus al hough umou s ep esen a li e-
h ea ening physical eali y on he le el o he b ain, when hey en e he ealm o he mind
hey cease o be physical and become abs ac ideas en e ained as me e objec s o hough .3
In conclusion, we ha e seen ha unlike he b ain, which is cons ained by he limi s
o ime and space, he mind enjoys eedom om bo h. I can ange o e all o ime and
space, and e en imagine hings ha do no exis in physical eali y:
(33) y o ealize ha hose as c owds o people who will sc eam wi h laugh e a
he sigh o you in a swimsui , o on seeing you jogging, skipping, en olling a
ae obics classes o e en aking a b isk daily walk, exis only in you mind. (BNC)
The eedom o he mind explains why “any scien is will claim o be he conscious
and ee au ho o he wo k he publishes, and no some zombie epea ing hings al eady
p e-de e mined in he Big-Bang” (Sua ez 2008: 7). Sua ez and Eccles bo h a gue ha he
inde e minacy o ma e on he quan um le el is wha allows imma e ial ee will o con ol
a ma e ial body: i he physical uni e se we e comple ely p e-de e mined, he e would
be no oom in i o he ope a ion o ee will. Since we all ha e he daily expe ience o
mo ing ou bodies eely, we could pe haps ha e in e ed he necessi y o ma e no being
comple ely p e-de e mined long be o e Heisenbe g and his colleagues in physics. Mode n
neu olinguis ics (c . he Damasio quo e abou how he b ain c ea es he mind gi en a he
ou se o his pape ), and e en some cogni i e linguis s – c . Langacke (1987: 100): “wha I
call hough is he occu ence o a complex neu ological, ul ima ely neu ochemical e en ” –
would like ne e heless o educe he mind o he b ain, and hough s o me e elec ochemical
e en s. As poin ed ou by bo h physicis Paul Da ies (1984: 62) and philosophe o mind
Edwa d Fese (2005: 25, 172), howe e , elec ochemical impulses jumping be ween neu ons
ha e no mo e meaning han elec ici y in a wi e. In Da ies’ wo ds:
An elec ical enginee could gi e a comple e and accu a e desc ip ion o an ad e ising display
in e ms o elec ical ci cui heo y, explaining why and how each ligh is lashing. Ye he claim
ha he ad e ising display is no hing bu elec ical pulses in a complex ci cui is absu d.
The educ ion o mind o ma e seems o be a case o he emula ion o he science o
physics by he human sciences, a misconcep ion c i icized by philosophe Thomas Nagel
in The View om Nowhe e (1986: 7-8):
Fo many philosophe s he exempla y case o eali y is he wo ld desc ibed by physics, he science
in which we ha e achie ed ou g ea es de achmen om a speci ically human pe spec i e on
he wo ld. Bu o p ecisely ha eason physics is bound o lea e undesc ibed he i educibly
3 I may be no ed in passing ha bo h he OED and he W3D eco d he ph ase o ha e (some hing) on
he b ain, used me apho ically o mean ‘ o be obsessed wi h some hing’, as in Tom had o he momen go
Bee ho en on he b ain. He e he sou ce-domain o he me apho is ha o a physical ailmen and so b ain
e okes i s ly he o gan and, h ough me apho ical ans e , he mind, which is consequen ly depic ed as
su e ing om some so o disease making i obsessed wi h some hing.
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subjec i e cha ac e o conscious men al p ocesses, wha e e may be hei in ima e ela ion o
he physical ope a ion o he b ain. The subjec i i y o consciousness is an i educible ea u e
o eali y – wi hou which we couldn’ do physics o any hing else – and i mus occupy as
undamen al a place in any c edible wo ld iew as ma e , ene gy, space, ime, and numbe s.
The a emp o gi e a comple e accoun o he wo ld in physical non-subjec i e e ms
leads ine i ably, as Nagel obse es, o “ alse educ ions o o ou igh denial ha ce ain
pa en ly eal phenomena exis a all.” I has been shown in his pape ha he da a o na u al
language, as embodied in he e e yday ca ego ies o hough in English, a es o a e y
clea dis inc ion be ween he b ain, which is a physical o gan loca ed in he c anial ca i y
o a human being o an animal, and he mind, which is no ied down o pa icula space-
ime coo dina es bu is ee o oam as a as i likes in o he pas o u u e, o o e he as
expanses o he uni e se, and can e en be concei ed as being absen om he pe son o
whom i belongs (c . he adjec i e absen -minded). The exis ence o he dis inc ion be ween
mind and b ain is based on he expe ience we ha e o ou own sel es, seen om an inside,
subjec i e poin o iew. Howe e he concep s o mind and b ain a e no pu ely subjec i e,
since hey can be communica ed o o he people by means o he sha ed sign-meaning
pai ings o he English language. Why would linguis s e e wan o deny ha a dis inc ion
so o e whelmingly a es ed by he linguis ic e idence exis s? I would like o conclude by
o e ing o you conside a ion he p o ound wisdom embodied in he ollowing dialogue
be ween Dilbe and his pe dog:
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