What Controls the You?

There have been many philosophical debates over the millennia, most of them are valid arguments, and need to be looked into to understand the human condition.  “I think therefore I am,” the human soul, what could be a better debate?

What about the one about why humans act the way they do?  All my life I’ve watched human beings defy common morality, sacrifice themselves for the greater good, or humiliate themselves for money.  The problem is, trying to understand the large decisions, is far too complicated, so I wanted to get down to the basics.

I believe there are three major aspects to how we exist.  We interact with this world through our Body, which has a central processing unit called the Mind, both of which somehow have tethered a Soul to this mortal coil.  My question is, “Which one of these, controls You?”




The Body is simply organic tissues, a mass of integrated parts that’s so hard to honestly fathom.  There are many things about the body that scientists still don’t understand in the slightest.  Neurology, as a science, is full of odd pitfalls and misunderstandings.  I’ve never been to a neurologist that will confidently say they understand anything about the brain, and if I find one that does, they will be lying to me.

All these cells that have collected to become our Body, are under the influence of so many things that there’s no way I can even begin to list them all.  Everything we eat, breath, or otherwise absorb affects our Body.  Not only that, emotion is honestly felt by neuropeptides that act like drugs themselves and flood our body when released.  Why do people cheat on their significant others?  The answer is easily a Pavlovian response, certain things happen, the Body responds in a certain way, and they don’t move to stop it, and just let their Body respond how it wants.

How can you stop such a reaction?  The Mind is the logical part.  All memories are stored there, as a databank for you to recall when needing to make a decision.  You weigh the consequences against the risks and make a logical decision.  “If I cheat, will I get caught?”  The logical answer is probably not.  “Should I cheat?”  After searching the database against all the things you have learned what is your answer?  I know I couldn’t cheat, because I know what its like to be cheated on, I’ve seen how it devastates others, and I don’t want to live that kind of life.




Luckily I’ll never have to answer that question, because I fully trust my Soul.  I might not be a religious person, but I am religiously spiritual.  I believe I have a Soul, and I have felt the way my body and mind make the wrong decisions in life, and resisted them.  My Soul will keep me from straying, because it is a real connection to my wife, and it is more real to me than anything my body or my mind can experience.

You can take any analogy to this question, and get a better answer than anything you can just think of.  Drugs: Body = they are damaging but I will experience something I can’t in any other way / Mind = I will forget the present, and experience euphoria at the expense of negligible damage and the possibility of becoming addicted / Soul = This existence is full of pleasures beyond simple hallucinations and ‘fake’ perceptions, and I do not want my tools to experience this world diminished.  Answer = No.

Anyways, this is my ‘great philosophical debate’ and its something I fully believe in.  I go through this sometimes in my head, to know that I’m really Me.  The Soul is a beautiful thing, the most amazing thing.  Truly cherish this existence, and rise above temptation.

So what controls you?  The Body, the Mind, or the Soul?  Do you give into temptation easily, or do you rise above?  Did you notice that most religious texts are all about acting better than a simple animal, or allowing yourself to be controlled by your body?  I think this is the most important philosophical debate for human kind, what do you think is the most important?  Please comment and let your voice be heard, because surely you have an opinion on what it means to be alive.