Question

So I understand the physicist's framing of casualty as follows: given an initial value of a system, say a cart on a piece of land. I add a fictitious (and privileged) initial condition, say a push. Then I say I calculate the force on the cart. And then I make statements like if I hadn't pushed the cart, it wouldn't have moved. Cause precedes effect, blah blah blah.

What blew me away was in Part Two, Chapter One - Examination of Conditions of the book The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way - Jay L Garfield, Nagarjuna argues against such privileged fiction and concludes in dependent arising of phenomena.
Now, while I haven't completely read the book. Western thought then gives the motive of separating mental events from physical and perhaps a notion of language where we explore the fiction of our minds.
With such a starting point how did the Buddhists solve(/think of) the mind-body problem?

Answer 1

The mind-body problem in Buddhist and Eastern thought is approached through the concept of dependent arising, where mind and body are not seen as distinct but interdependent, in contrast to Western dualistic views which separate mental from physical events.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mind-body problem deals with understanding the relationship between mental events and physical phenomena. In Western thought, there's a tendency to distinguish between the two, with the physical being extended in space, subject to laws of nature, and influencing events like the movement of a cart upon being pushed. This separates mental events from physical ones, which is exemplified in Cartesian dualism and its subsequent critiques, such as Malebranche's occasionalism where God is the only true cause.

In contrast, Eastern philosophies, such as Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism, present a more integrated view of causality and reality, suggesting that phenomena lack an essential nature but still have temporary existence, with truth transcending existence and non-existence.

When examining the mind-body problem, Buddhists and Eastern thinkers consider the idea that all events, mental or physical, are interdependent and lack intrinsic, separate identities. This dependent arising stands in contrast to Western notions of linear causality and challenges Cartesian dualism by implying that distinguishing between mind and body might be an artificial separation. Therefore, in Eastern thought, the mind-body problem may not be a problem at all but a conceptual misunderstanding arising from an erroneous view of separation.