Nuanced Limericks about the Mind Body Problem

For some of us, it’s no problem at all. But for others, the mind and the body are irreconcilably and forever at odds. I, for one, have spent many sleepless nights fretting over the Mind-Body Problem.

On the one hand, we are separate and distinct individuals, limited to the very definite time and space of our physical bodies. On the other hand, our minds contain a boundless world of imaginary thoughts, which swim seamlessly among our hopes, fears and memories. Our sense of identity depends entirely on these thoughts and memories, conceivably independent of our physical manifestations.

A fun little thought experiment can serve to clarify the quandary. Imagine you and your worst enemy are hooked up to a machine. While you’re both sleeping, the mad scientist performs a dangerous test and swaps your minds. When you wake up, your mind is in your enemy’s body, and his mind is in yours.

Now which one is the real you? If you’re like most people, you would say that “you” are in the other person’s body. And the other “person” is in your body. So we identify ourselves with the mind, and the body is little more than an incidental vessel or vehicle. The two are inseparable for all intents and purposes (previous thought experiment notwithstanding), but they experience two very different realities.

If it should follow that the mind is simply one more feature in the assembly of human anatomy, then can our inscrutable sense of self be reduced to a series of biochemical reactions and physiological phenomena? Well, maybe.

Identity
Despite what the rational body observes
There’s a sense of the self that the mem’ry preserves
While the urge for reducing
Is somewhat seducing
We’re more than the sum of a bundle of nerves

Dichotomy 
The body is thick but the mind is diaphanous
One can be fed while the other’s still ravenous
Coupled by chance
For a quick little dance
And I’m ever so grateful so thank you for havin’ us

The Chasm 
A gap is revealed by the rarefied arts
‘Tween the whole of ourselves and the sum of our parts
The source and the substance
They hang in the balance
In essence we’re more than just livers and hearts

Cosmic Connections
In heaven our spirits connect and converge
On earth we express an analogous urge
Our souls understand it 
Our bodies demand it
Separate but equally yearning to merge

Beings in Motion
In this lifetime our souls are being held in abeyance
Our bodies are merely a means of conveyance
To experience the flesh
And be put to the test
While under the eye of some higher surveillance

Dualist Distinctions
A question that’s frequently wondered:
Can the soul and the body be sundered?
No, in fact, we’re defined
By the way we’re confined
So the dualists have seriously blundered

Further Reading

If you liked these limericks about the Mind-Body Problem, you’ll be sure to enjoy:

• Limericks about Existentialism
• Limericks about the Divided Psyche
• Limericks about Western Philosophy
• Limericks about Religious Problems
• 8 Common questions about limericks