Two Minds Blog

Two Minds Theory (TMT) might seem hard to swallow if you think that it threatens the idea that humans have free will. Philosopher Daniel Dennett calls this the “zombie problem.” If I think hard enough, I can probably convince myself that your actions are 100% the result of your genetics and past history, with no room for any decision-making on your part. In other words, it seems at least plausible to believe that you are a “philosophical zombie” without free will to determine your own actions. It takes some effort, but I can convince myself that you have no free will. But I find (as most people do) that no amount of effort can make me believe  I don’t have free will either! Because TMT posits that our thoughts do not determine our actions, TMT might seem like a victory for materialism (the idea that all observable phenomena have a physical cause) and determinism (the idea that everything that occurs is part of an unending chain of causation in which anything that happens depe...

This week I'm sharing an article from our CU College of Nursing press office, recognizing two students doing research that's connected to Two Minds Theory:  http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/nursing/about-us/news/Pages/2019/Poster-presentation-covers-it-all.aspx Two of my students won awards for their poster presentations at the College's research symposium, one for a study of trauma and chronic pain in patients with opioid use disorders, and the other for a study of Intuitive-level variables that predict medication adherence in patients with HIV. Both are topics that I have posted about previously on the blog (HIV treatment adherence here ; opioid use disorders  here and here ), and each is the focus of ongoing research at the college. The college posted copies of Linda Driscoll Powers's poster on chronic pain and trauma in patients with opioid use  (2nd place winner), and Nasser Al-Salmi's poster on predictors of HIV medication adherence (3rd place w...

A growing number of tech companies now sell devices that are marketed as mindfulness aids, ranging from heart rate monitors to breathing apps to sensors that measure brainwaves or electrical conductance of skin (GSR). These devices all operate under the assumption that they are measuring physiological indicators corresponding to the mental state of relaxation or awareness known as mindfulness. Mindfulness is a concept with many possible meanings; in a  previous blog we gave our working definition of mindfulness as a combination of attention plus non-judgment. Considering the physiology of mindfulness adds another layer, which people sometimes describe as a state of deep relaxation, calm alertness, or being "centered" in one's own mind. There is good evidence that meditation can produce a distinct physiological state characterized by slower breathing and heart rate, a smooth EEG wave function in the brain, and an improved immune response. This meditative state see...