Interacting with the Interaction Problem: A Yogācāra Buddhist Account of the Mind–Body Relation and Psychosomatic Causality

The dichotomy between mind and body has deeply shaped Western philosophy, psychology, and medicine, often with alienating and reductionist consequences. While commonly attributed to Descartes, this dualism predates him and persists as an implicit metaphysical assumption that distorts our understanding of self and experience. This thesis critically examines the conceptual and metaphysical underpinnings of the mind–body divide through a dialogue between Western philosophy and Yogācāra Buddhism. I argue that the mind–body problem arises from mistaken reification of conceptual categories and an implicit metaphysical assumption, which takes mind and body to be fundamentally separate substances. By contrast, I develop a non-dual framework, drawing on Yogācāra, in which mind, body, and consciousness are understood as interdependent aspects of a single field of conditioned experience. This perspective allows us to reconceptualize psychosomatic causality as the dynamic structuring of...Show moreThe dichotomy between mind and body has deeply shaped Western philosophy, psychology, and medicine, often with alienating and reductionist consequences. While commonly attributed to Descartes, this dualism predates him and persists as an implicit metaphysical assumption that distorts our understanding of self and experience. This thesis critically examines the conceptual and metaphysical underpinnings of the mind–body divide through a dialogue between Western philosophy and Yogācāra Buddhism. I argue that the mind–body problem arises from mistaken reification of conceptual categories and an implicit metaphysical assumption, which takes mind and body to be fundamentally separate substances. By contrast, I develop a non-dual framework, drawing on Yogācāra, in which mind, body, and consciousness are understood as interdependent aspects of a single field of conditioned experience. This perspective allows us to reconceptualize psychosomatic causality as the dynamic structuring of experience within a localized, embodied consciousness, instead of as a problematic interaction between two distinct substances. In doing so, I aim to dissolve the conceptual deadlock of the mind–body interaction problem while preserving the meaningful distinctions we draw between mental and bodily phenomena as conventional and provisional. This reorientation could have implications not only for philosophy of mind, but also for healthcare practice, suggesting a more integrated and holistic approach to human experience, health, and suffering.Show less

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Interacting with the Interaction Problem: A Yogācāra Buddhist Account of the Mind–Body Relation and Psychosomatic Causality