Neuro-diversity, a body-mind problem and Descartes

 In the 17th Century Rene Descartes, in defining the difference between human and non-human animals argued that humans had minds and bodies and non-human animals had only bodies. This led to a whole number of so-called mind-body problems, a key one being how the body and the mind related to each other. Many now consider this to be simply wrong headed.

It is this dischotomizing which has created, in handlng seemingly intractable problems, two further problems: one can be labelled a root problem and the other a meta-problem. The root problem exists at essentially the individual level, while the meta-problem exists at the societal level.

The phrase ‘the tip of the iceberg’ applies to all presenting problems, which for those seeking ‘simple’ solutions, creates an additonal obstacle to accepting a treatment programme. In short; problems lie within other problems but fortunately, not ad infinitum !