Abstract: When we inquire into our personal experience of physical and men- tal events, we find that we encounter two types of phenomena that bear distinct differences. Material objects characteristically have loca- tion and may have mass, velocity, and physical dimensions. Thus, theylendthemselvestoquantitativemeasurementandanalysis. Some mental events, such as physical pain, may be located in specific areas in the body, but for others the notion of location seems inappropriate. Where, for example, is affection located; or where are the recollec- tions of one’s childhood? It is possible to locate neurophysiological processes that are associated with certain mental states, but science has in no way demonstrated that the two are equivalent. It is possible to trigger specific mental events by electrically stimulating areas of the brain and to trigger specific neurological events by subjectively stimulating the mind. This proves neither that the mental events can be reduced to the physical nor the opposite. It is just as reasonable to explain the evidence of introspection in its own subjective terms as it is to explain the findings of objective science in its terms.
