ABSTRACT
The assumption that we have a conscious mind that controls our voluntary functions and actions is taken for granted in everyday life and is deeply ingrained in our ethics, politics and legal systems. The potential effect of the mind on the body is also taken for granted in psychosomatic medicine. But how the conscious mind exercises its influence is not easy to understand. In principle, there are four distinct ways in which body/ brain and mind/ consciousness might enter into causal relationships. There might be physical causes of physical states, physical causes of mental states, mental causes of mental states, and mental causes of physical states. Establishing which forms of causation are effective in practice is important, not just for a deeper understanding of mind/ body interactions, but also for the proper treatment of some forms of illness and disease.
