structural:scholar_edition
Definition

The mind is the totality of psychological phenomena and capacities, encompassing consciousness, thought, perception, sensation, feeling, mood, motivation, behavior, memory, and learning. The term is sometimes used in a more narrow sense to refer only to higher or more abstract cognitive functions associated with reasoning and awareness. Minds were traditionally conceived as immaterial substances or independent entities and contrasted with matter and body. In the contemporary discourse, they are more commonly seen as features of other entities and are often understood as capacities of material brains. The precise definition of mind is disputed and while it is generally accepted that some non-human animals also have mind, there is no agreement on where exactly the boundary lies. Despite these disputes, there is wide agreement that mind plays a central role in most aspects of human life as the seat of consciousness, emotions, thoughts, and sense of personal identity. Various fields of inquiry study the mind; the main ones include psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and philosophy.

The words psyche and mentality are usually used as synonyms of mind. They are often employed in overlapping ways with the terms soul, spirit, cognition, intellect, intelligence, and brain but their meanings are not exactly the same. Some religions understand the soul as an independent entity that constitutes the immaterial essence of human beings, is of divine origin, survives bodily death, and is immortal. The word spirit has various additional meanings not directly associated with mind, such as a vital principle animating living beings or a supernatural being inhabiting objects or places. Cognition encompasses certain types of mental processes in which knowledge is acquired and information processed. The intellect is one mental capacity responsible for thought, reasoning, and understanding and is closely related to intelligence as the ability to acquire, understand, and apply knowledge. The brain is the physical organ responsible for most or all mental functions.

The modern English word mind originates from the Old English word gemynd, meaning "memory". This term gave rise to the Middle English words mind(e), münd(e), and mend(e), resulting in a slow expansion of meaning to cover all mental capacities. The original meaning is preserved in expressions like call to mind and keep in mind. Cognates include the Old High German gimunt, the Gothic gamunds, the ancient Greek μένος, the Latin mens, and the Sanskrit manas.