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PAINFUL TRUTH: Astronaut in a meat spacesuit

Descartes was wrong, I'm sure he'll be crushed
Dan FERGUSON / Langley Times July 19 2015
The race gets underway.
Exercise, such as training for a bike ride such as the Valley Granfondo in Langley, is good for overall mood. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

I've been getting a lot of exercise lately, which has put me in a good mood. Being in a good mood because of exercise kind of annoys me.

This is because, like a lot of us, I like to pretend that my mind and my body are separate things. One is pure and abstract, and the other one is a big sack of organs and muscles and bones that my mind gets to order around. 

This is because a lot of us absorbed the idea of mind-body dualism. It's pretty thoroughly embedded in western culture, going back to the Ancient Greeks, René Descartes, and centuries of religious thought. The idea is that the mind or soul (and therefore the ineffable self) is something that was wrapped up in, but separate from, the material form.

When you think about yourself, about the self-inside-you that makes decisions and judgments, that loves and holds grudges, that feels shame and guilt and hope, there's a tendency to imagine something floating somewhere behind our eyes. Like a little guy in the control room of our brain, an astronaut wrapped in a meat spacesuit.

I'm not a theologian, so I'm not going to debate the idea of souls, but I agree thoroughly with the more recent scientific and philosophical consensus that says the mind is a part of the body, and the body affects the mind pretty powerfully. 

It's natural to want to think that our essential self – our personality, intellect, and decision making apparatus – can't be changed by what happens to our bodies. But we know that's not true. Drugs and alcohol, brain injuries, and disease can all alter how we think, in ways large or small. That's terrifying! An accident or illness can change our innermost self!

On the more positive side of the ledger, that's why exercise and some other things – even getting a hug – can also change your brain state for the better. If we're in a world where our personality is linked to what happens to our physical forms, at least there are a few levers we can pull to give ourselves an upgrade.

Exercise is a powerful lever. I usually spend the first three or four weeks after the holidays as torpid as a lizard on a cold morning, just slumped on the couch, bingeing TV shows and eating leftover Christmas baking.

This year I decided to go to the gym instead (in between sessions of bingeing TV and scarfing baked goods). This is not some extreme workout, really, it's just 30 minutes on the old exercise bike, more days than not.

And yes, as everyone tells you, exercise is a mood booster. It makes me sleep better too, which also helps with my mood.

I deeply resent this knowledge. I know intellectually that my brain is a part of my body, but to have it demonstrated so forcefully is annoying! January is supposed to be a time of the winter blahs, of being mildly miserable until the sun comes back in the spring.

Instead, I'm faintly happy all the time!

Descartes must be so ashamed of me.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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