The Mind's Eye By Oliver Sack Summary

The Mind, The Brain, The Myth

In “The Mind’s Eye,” Oliver Sacks opens up by asking three similar questions: “To what extent are we – our experiences, our reactions – shaped, predetermined, by our brains, and to what extent do we shape our own brains? Does the mind run the brain or the brain the mind – or, rather, to what extent does one run the other? To what extent are we the authors, the creators, of our own experiences?” (214) These three questions refer to the same question of the limit of control between the mind and brain. These questions begin to cast doubts on the belief of the brain being a “hard-wired” organ. They ensue an argument of self-finding; can our minds change the thought process of the brain? By answering the main question
The control for most people is left at a subconscious level; in some cases control is brought to a conscious level through the mind’s ability to shape the brain; which is what is found to be true by the scientific findings in Sack’s essay. Sack focuses on the adaptations in the brains of people who became blind later in life. It is found in these people that go through an adaptation in their thinking process that a new sense of control emerges. Sack explains such is the case for Torey, “Well aware that the imagination (or the brains), unrestrained by the usual perceptual input, may run away with itself in a wildly associative or self-serving way -as may happen in deliria, hallucinations, or dreams -Torey maintained a cautious and “scientific” attitude to his own visual imagery, taking pains to check the accuracy of his images by every means available. “I learned,” he writes, “to hold the image in a tentative way, conferring credibility and status on it only when some information would tip the balance in its favor.””(511) Torey is not like a regular person, his thought process adapted accordingly to his inner consciousness and made him much more aware of his inner self. He became very imagery oriented and was able to control and manipulate his inner thoughts. This new control emerged as a new thought process as Torey adapted to his blindness. Comparing this case which is similar to the other findings in Sacks essay to regular people you can see the amount of inner life control is drastically different. Ordinary people do not have the same capabilities as those mentioned in the essay. The scientific findings in Sacks essay counter the perceived thought that regular people perceive themselves as having a great