What is the Mind? — The Quiet Answers Philosophy Has Accumulated: Chapter 1 — What Exactly is the Mind? — A Long-standing Question in Philosophy

日本語(original) | English version | 繁體中文（台灣）版 | 簡体中文版 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt

---

Hello everyone, this is Akira.

In the previous Schopenhauer series, we talked about "the pain of the will" and "the world of representation."

Within that ceaseless drive and thirst, how does our "mind" actually function?

Starting today, in this new series, we will carefully trace the question of "What is the mind?" through the long history of philosophy.

This question is by no means a new one.

From ancient Greece to modernity, and even within Japanese thought, philosophers have continued to ask about the true nature of the "mind" (or soul, spirit, heart).

Is the mind merely a collection of emotions and thoughts?

Or is it something with a power or way of being distinct from the body?

In Plato’s dialogue Phaedo, Socrates, facing death, speaks about the relationship between the soul and the body.

While the body is easily captive to sensations and desires, the soul has the potential to turn toward pure thought — Beauty itself, Justice itself, Goodness itself.

What is important here is the view that "death is the separation of the soul from the body."

Socrates says that philosophy is the practice of this "separation" even while we are alive.

This is not so much a religious claim of immortality as an emphasis on the power of the mind to function free from the constraints of the body.

The mind — how much can it maintain itself amid the noise of daily life and face the essence of things? This perspective invites us to reconsider that possibility.

For us living in the modern world, this ancient question feels surprisingly close.

In our daily lives filled with endless notifications, pressure to produce results, and moments when our brains are so exhausted that we think, "I don’t want to think about anything anymore" —

What state is our mind in during such experiences?

The inquiries accumulated by philosophers offer us a mirror with which to reflect on this modern exhaustion of the mind.

The mind is not merely something closed off inside us. Perhaps we can reframe it as a power that, while engaging with the world, intentionally creates distance and cultivates a quiet blank space.

Modes of rest like "power-saving mode" or time spent "doing nothing" —

These may hold meaning as modern versions of philosophy’s "practice of separation."

In this series, while taking Plato as the central axis, we will also refer to Schopenhauer and Japanese thought (particularly the way of the mind shown in The Structure of "Iki"), and explore "What is the mind?" from multiple angles.

In each chapter, I will present specific philosophical perspectives while using accessible language so that contemporary readers can engage with "their own mind" in a bodily, felt way.

There are no simple answers to the question of the mind.

However, by carefully tracing the accumulation of philosophy, we can begin to look at our own minds from a slightly different perspective.

In the next chapter, we will examine in more detail Plato’s idea in the Phaedo of the separation between soul and body.

I hope you will stay with me.

---

Akira

👤 Profile: https://discipline.tokyo/profile.php

📧 Email: akira@discipline.tokyo

📮 Anonymous Contact Form: https://discipline.tokyo/contact.php

📚 All Activities Summary: https://discipline.tokyo/index.php

※This series and related content are the crystallization of my thoughts and are protected by copyright law. When quoting, please clearly indicate the source. Unauthorized reproduction or commercial use is prohibited.

© 2026 Akira All Rights Reserved.