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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
 Posted - 08/03/2007 : 12:19:01
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The Power of Thought to Heal: An Ontology of Personal Faith
by Arthur Preston Smith (1998)
URL OF WHOLE DISSERTATION:
http://www.arthursmithphd.com/DissertationE-book.pdf
OR
http://www.arthursmithphd.com/Dissert.htm#contents
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Abstract of the Dissertation
This dissertation discusses the philosophical issues involved with
psychosomatic healing. It attempts to establish two theses. The first is that
psychosomatic healing is a very real, if not common, phenomenon. The
second is that it is also a natural process, i.e., it need not involve any
supernatural Divine intervention. If it involves God’s action at all, then God
is acting through natural processes. Evidence from numerous sources, such
as the placebo effect, the new science of psychoneuroimmunology, scientific
studies and experiments, and historical events, is used to support the first
thesis. Although this evidence strongly supports the proposition that
thoughts, attitudes and beliefs can significantly affect health, it tells us
nothing about the interaction involved, if any, between the mind and the
brain.
The apparent mystery of psychosomatic healing can be traced to two
underlying philosophical enigmas: the mind-body relationship and efficient
causation as real influence, neither of which can be resolved empirically. An
overview of the current mind-body debate in contemporary philosophy is
presented, in which the dualists and materialists, the two major contenders
in this debate, are shown to have succeeded in refuting each other.
Accordingly, we must reject both positions. The idealist alternative, the
prevailing paradigm among advocates of mental healing, is also examined,
and it too is shown to be inadequate.
The apparent mystery of mental healing, as well as the presumption that
it must somehow be supernatural, are both attributed to modern
philosophy’s attempt to understand efficient causation and the mind-body
relationship in terms of substance-and-attribute thinking. To understand
either efficient causation in general, or mind-body interaction in particular,
we must change the context of the discussion from one of substance and
attribute to one of process and creativity. Whitehead’s philosophical model,
in that it addresses this point directly, is therefore an excellent starting
point in unraveling the mystery of psychosomatic healing.
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Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." It's all you need to know in order to recover. |
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Interesting online dissertation
