Some think the mind is an immaterial soul. Others think it is just the brain. But there are many, many more views than that. Here's a flowchart to keep track.

I think I'm in the reductive physicalism camp but I'm not sure about that last branch.

I've seen no convincing arguments or evidence that the brain is more than a clump of nerve cells that obey the laws of physics just like everything else.

The sum of your Genetics+all environmental input: a lifetime of sensory input+some quantum effect randomness determines your actions and your brain tricks you into believing your choices are being made by the you in the present.

Believing you have a soul that grants you free will and access to heaven is not science. It's wishful thinking, and it's dangerous. If more people accepted that we don't have as much agency as we think there would be a much greater push to ban propaganda like fox news.

As we link our minds and thoughts closer and closer to technology the people analyzing the social data keep finding the same results in increasing granular clarity. Your decisions are influenced by the people you friend on Facebook, the subreddits you follow, the ads you see, etc.

The truth is not spoken because it is scary and silence on the issue is profitable. Corporations and career politicians take advantage of the fact that most people have an absolute belief in free will and won't accept that their actions are being influenced or outright decided for them without their knowledge.

There are literally millions of fox news viewers who believe they are perfectly objective, rational and in full control of their thoughts views and decisions on all issues. It will never occur to them that they might be unduly influenced on an issue even as they repeat the exact words used by fox news.

Liberals are by no means immune to this effect I just went with the best example.

/r/philosophy Thread Link - byrdnick.com