Abstract

It is shown that Schumann’s notion of the Symbolosphere, the non-physical world of symbolic relationships and Logan’s (2000a) Extended Mind model in which the mind is defined as the brain plus language entail a form of dualism. A distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the human brain. No distinction is made between substance and property dualism, hence the use of the term neo-dualism. The neo-dualistic approach is justified on the basis that at our current understanding of neuroscience is unable to connect the functions of the mind with the actions of the brain and hence it makes sense from a practical point of view to distinguish between these two levels of phenomena. The neo-dualism formulated here is also used to critique strong AI and deconstructionism.