Psychophysical parallelism explained

Gustav Theodor Fechner
(1801-1887)

Theory of psychophysical parallelism states that mental and physical experiences occur simultaneously and are not necessarily bound by any causal interaction. The theory was established in the early 19th century by a German philosopher Gustav Theodor Fechner (who is also famous for Weber-Fechner law). While psychophysical parallelism definition might seem a bit unclear, the theory is very interesting and is one of few philosophical theories which have been accepted by numerous scientists. To better understand Fechner’s approach to mind-body problem a little historical background would be helpful.

In the middle of the 19th century, with a more and more rapid progression of scientific thought, many philosophers became interested in explaining the nature of mind and body interaction. This lead to a famous materialism dispute as the opponents of metaphysical philosophy gained many supporters (Vogt, Büchner, Moleschott). Materialistic approach to mind-body dichotomy was at that time seen as very radical, and some of its points still cause much controversy in the 21st century:

Solipsism: do others exist in your mind only?

Solipsism is one of the most interesting theories of mind. Why? I’ll tell you how solipsists define solipsism. Get ready, solipsism definition is as follows: one’s own mind is all that can be known to exist. But what does solipsism really mean? Not only solipsists and philosophers in general know the meaning of solipsism – also average people like you and me have probably experienced solipsism as a child (infant solipsism). Solipsism is so convincing that there is even a solipsism syndrome – therefore you could actually suffer from solipsism. If you’re not afraid to start doubting in others’ existence, continue reading…

Think about your childhood. What’s your first memory? Most people can trace their memories back to the time they were about 3 or 4 years old. You probably can’t remember from your own experience what had happened before your 3^rd birthday or even if you are it’s almost impossible to have any memories before 2^nd birthday. How can you know what had happened before then?