no subject

[flexibeast]

In recent times, i've had to think about the question of whether the mind or body should have primacy. Specifically, if i 'feel' i'm female, despite my physiology - that is, if my mind has a certain sense of my sex that differs from the sex expressed by my physical appearance - why should we assume that my mind's sex is my 'real' sex? On what basis should i prefer to modify my body's apparent sex to match my mind's sex, rather than the other way around?

My initial thoughts on this are based on the idea that our mind represents our 'self' much more than our body does. If there were somehow a way of separating our mind and our body *waves at Descartes* so that others could only interact with either our mind or our body, my guess is that people would only feel they are actually interacting with us when they interact with our mind, and not with our body. A body without a mind is a body without feelings, personality, beliefs, experiences, knowledge, and so on.

Thoughts, comments, criticisms, anyone?

Comments

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

Noting that I reject Cartesian Dualism, I do think the mind, the *whole* mind including the bits inaccassible to the consciousness indeed is the person far more than their body.

How could I think otherwise, with mine playing up on me at the cellular level?

It is interesting.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Yes, debilitating physical illnesses can give one quite strong opinions in this regard. :-)

[merrywitch.livejournal.com]

Simple thoughts here - years of research and empiric evidence show that the mind is hardwired and cannot be changed no matter the stimulus applied. This was the basis for the famous declaration by psychotherapist Harry Benjamin that led to the development of the "standards of Care" now named for him and used in the treatment of persons with transsexualism. In a nutshell, the Benjamin declaration states that since the mind cannot be altered to fit the body, the only humane approach is to alter the body to fit the mind. Despite decades of his critics attempting to refute this, it is still the only valid therapeutic approach to the treatment of transsexuality.

As you say (and *nods* to Rene D over there in the corner) the mind in isolation is the seat of psyche with which people interract. The body is functionally irrelevant to communication and understanding - if it were not, the telephone could not exist as a communications tool. Given this situation, judgement of sex based on mind's affirmation of its sex must always be accurate whereas judgement based on physiological and/or karyotypic presentation may well not be accurate.

Blessings ...... Merry

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the background info - unfortunately, i haven't read as much about Benjamin as i should have. *slaps self on wrist*

In terms of the mind's affirmation of sex, though, and playing (as i typically do :-) ) Devil's advocate, we accept that the mind's affirmations can be wrong, e.g. when someone has paranoid delusions (which i have myself experienced in the past). So how can we be sure that the mind's affirmation of sex is not simply a delusion - the mind fooling itself for some reason?

[merrywitch.livejournal.com]

That's why we are forced to endure the "gatekeepers" of the Psychologic and Psychiatric type - not to try and ""cure"" us, but rule out any other psycho-pathology as a possible cause for belief of gender dysphoria. If everything else is eliminated, a true case of transsexualism may then be diagnosed..

Blessings ........... Merry

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

*nod* That's what i've been saying to people. :-)