Emotion and Intellect
In English there are often multiple words for things. New findings may show the heart (our emotional state), and mind (intellect) may not be separate, but two words for the one thing.
The ancient Hebrews, who were so advanced in laws of hygiene that some parts of the world still have not caught up, made no difference between heart/emotion and mind/intellect.
The central statement of their culture explains what they thought about intellect and being. Their first law states,
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shall love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
To the Ancient Hebrew there were three aspects to a being: the person's heart (mind/emotions), their breath (soul/life) and the body (strength). The Hebrew word for 'might' is 'very'. This law required service of the mind and the 'very' of life/ breath/ energy. To be 'out of breath' affects the strength, breath/life (soul) and strength are related. But the heart was first.
The three fold aspect is used by the psalmist,
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:3-4)
The hands relate to action (might/strength), the heart to thought (mind/emotion) and the soul to the life that makes the other two possible. These aspects of being re-occur many times in the Hebrew Bible as human actions are linked to the intents of the heart. In contrast the soul describes the life. An example is
If you forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou say, 'Behold, we knew it not'; does not he that ponder the heart consider it? and he that keeps your soul, doesn't he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? (Proverbs 24:11-12)
The Hebrews understood they had power over what their heart thought, and what they did, but that God had power over their soul. This indicates they believed the 'heart' (mind/emotion) was the place of thought and action.
The Greek World
But something changed. By the time of Christ in the Greek world a minimum of four words was required to describe the total state of being.
Jesus asks a lawyer what is written in the Law. The Lawyer's recital of the first law has four words to describe the state being, instead of three.
He (the lawyer) answering said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
And he (Jesus) said unto him, “You have answered right: this do, and thou shall live”.(Luke 10:25-29)
Added to 'heart', 'soul' and 'strength' is another concept, that of 'mind'. This is new.
To a Scribe on a different occasion, Jesus defines the aspects of being in this law also as four,
And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-30)
Jesus varies the order in speaking to this Scribe placing 'mind' above 'strength', according to Mark. This is consistent with Jesus' later answer to another lawyer, where he lists the aspects of being as three, where he leaves out strength altogether.
Jesus said unto him (the lawyer), Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)
But this Greek idea of 'mind' is limited in use. Some versions of the first law in the Septuagint, mostly the Jewish translations, have the Greek 'kardia' for heart. Others have 'dianoia' for heart. The Apostles, to describe unity of being, returned to the two Jewish concepts of heart and soul, and did not refer to 'mind' at all, even thought it was written in Greek!
The multitude of them that believed were of one heart (Greek: kardia) and of one soul: neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (Acts 4:32)
If the idea of 'heart' was sufficient, to describe their mental bond. What caused the change in the first commandment? Why did the educated Jews, the Scribes and Lawyers add on the fourth idea of 'mind'? Why according to the gospel writers did Jesus in talking to the educated scribes and Lawyers drop the Hebrew idea of 'strength' and use 'mind'?
We suggest the change was due to trying to deal with newer Greek concepts. For many years the Hebrews had been subjected to exposure to a Hellenistic culture. The educated Jews were influenced by this thinking.
From Plato (428/7 – 348/7 BC), had come the idea 'soul' was separate from the 'body'. Plato had also divided the soul based on judgements of sense and reason. Sense/feeling and reason/intellect became thought of as separate. Plato also thought that the soul's perception, or belief, was not reliable, and no information gained this way should be called knowledge. Plato, in effect, separated 'perception' from 'intellect'. Plato came to this conclusion that the soul was divided as he was answering the question as to why a stick in water looks bent when we “know” it's straight, or how we “know” a plan shape when we see only in perspective.
Plato had divided the soul into three. His third form was the word used for 'mind' in the first law in the New Testament (dianoia), the idea that humans can understand things through pure reason. From Hellenistic philosophy dianoia was knowledge gained apart from that understood through the 5 senses. They argued that true knowledge was from higher reason alone.
The Greek idea of intellect (dianoia) may have predated Plato, as he said, “For most of these in their explanations of the poet (Homer 8th century BC), assert that he meant by Athena "mind" [nous] and "intelligence" [dianoia]” If this is case, the Greeks by the time of Homer had two words to describe the mind, with the reasoning intellect represented by the word dianoia.
We can see why the educated Jews would add dianoia, or the idea of 'intellect' to their list. They had a Greek culture for over 300 years saying that there is a separate part, a capacity for a higher, purer reasoned thought. If such is the case, to the Jewish lawyer, this thinking part of their whole being should also be given wholly in service to their God. These lawyers tried to again capture what people understood as all aspects of being. Note Jesus was not out to make scientific statements. He worked always within the lowest common denominator of his audience's understanding. It does not matter doctrinally whether 'mind' is separate to 'intelligence' or not, as long as we give all our being in service.
New Findings about the Heart
But what if the Greeks had missed a scientific truth? And the Ancient Hebrews had the right understanding? It has been found that the organ called the heart, thought of as part of our emotional state may be more connected to the mind than previously thought. Now heart transplants are routine, it is emerging that a new heart can change a personality.
A 28 year old Tucson woman, a psychology student, after a heart transplant suddenly became a sports fan and liked Mexican food. She found out later these traits belonged to her donor. A 53 year old businessman from Arizona after a heart transplant became competitive in swimming, cycling and running, and interested in charity. This makes sense as a reformed life, but he also cried hearing the music of Sade. Later he found out his heart came from a very fit 36 year old stuntman, who did volunteer work for charity. He learnt from the brother that the stuntman had loved the music of Sade. A 63 year old New York man who while waiting for a new heart showed little drawing skill, but found a few days after his transplant new skill. He found later his donor had loved to paint from a child and was artistic.
A diet conscious female ballet dancer wrote a book noting that after her transplant she desired beer, green peppers and chicken nuggets. She later learnt from her donor's family that the young male motorcyclist had loved these foods. But by far the most curious is the 8 year old girl who was given a 10 year old murder victim's heart. The girl's dreams helped locate and convict her donor's killer.
In a study of 10 transplant patients they noted a male patient who was given a woman's heart had a sudden preference for pink and wearing perfume, which were a specific love of the donor. The researchers concluded the changes in the group of 10 were so specific that that it could not just be from the drugs or the psychological effect. Some seem not affected, but report a bond. Professor Gary Schwartz, of the University of Arizona has documented 70 cases of personality change. An Austrian study of 47 heart transplant patients by Bunzel, Schmidl-Mohl, Grundböck and Wollenek found,
“79% stated that their personality had not changed at all postoperatively. In this group, patients showed massive defense and denial reactions, mainly by rapidly changing the subject or making the question ridiculous. Fifteen per cent stated that their personality had indeed changed, but not because of the donor organ, but due to the life-threatening event. Six per cent (three patients) reported a distinct change of personality due to their new hearts”. (Quality of Life Research, Springer: Netherlands, 1992, pp. 251-6)
One may conclude that possibly many noted a difference. Some possible explanations note DNA is transferred, and DNA contains information on cerebral function and there may be cellular memory or "systemic memory".
An explanation may be in how the heart grows. The heart/mind development of an emotional musician will be very different to that of a high altitude athlete. One heart becomes highly responsive to the brain and specific emotion and the rhythms of music, the other has greater capacity to pump blood. If they were to swap hearts mid life, the musician would find the rhythm felt in his heart was gone, and the athlete would find he had no capacity to run. The heart is connected to the brain. In a complex way information about the world from all the senses and body, but especially the heart organ, is processed to affect our state of being and thinking. It may be all transplant hearts carry the imprint of the brain they grew with. The phenomena of a radical change would affect a minority, as personalities comply to the bell curve with most people in the middle, with only the more extreme differences being noticeable.
In any case the mind is clearly not separated from the heart. The heart is for many people, more than a pump, it affects their thinking. If this is the case, can emotion and intellect be separated? Does the intellect of pure reason really exist? Or is even the isolated mathematician connected via his heart to derive emotion from his calculations? If his heart is in his intellectual work, his heart and mind are working as one together in his being.
Did the Ancient Hebrews know the 'heart' as the complex interconnected totality that today it is being revealed as? Was the later Greek understanding incorrect? Jesus saw no need to refer to the idea of 'mind' when he said,
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts...: (Matthew 15:18-19)
It seems we must be wary of Ancient Greek thinking. They might have been wrong. Perhaps this ancient proverb said it all.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.(Proverbs 20:5)
In any case, the ancient Hebrews knew long ago of the dramatic effects of being given a new heart.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Soul & Heart /Mind
The ancient Hebrew's conception of being was concentric. The heart/emotion/thought was part of, and central to, the greater soul/life which was capable of exceeding (might/strength). This is borne out throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew word translated mostly 'heart' is consistently used wherever thought and intent is implied. The Hebrew word for 'soul' is used for the whole being, both body and thought.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: (Psa 139:23)I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are your works; and that my soul knows right well. (Psa 139:14)
You have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot celebrate you: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth. (Isaiah 38:17-18)
Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate...I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of your hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsts after thee.... Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit fails: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. (Psa 143:4-7)
As I live, says the Lord GOD...Behold, all souls are mine... the soul that sins, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:3-4)
These excerpts show they linked heart/ mind/ thought to the soul. However they linked soul to the body saying when the body died so did the soul. The Hebrews stated many times in their text that souls die (7 times directly and many more times indirectly). They were confident stating as fact that the soul and all thought dies with the death of the body.
By contrast Plato concluded the 'soul' was separate from the 'body'. Plato concluded the soul was immortal as humans had a sense of remembered forms (he forgot that from birth humans are educated in identifying basic forms).
Who was scientifically right?
Modern science, such as the study of heart transplant patients, is showing that the physical heart can contain part of the personality of a person (usually called our soul). Human personality is contained in our living matter. In addition we know from studies of brain damage victims that certain parts of the matter of the brain contain personality. Certain parts contain also processing for the senses. These also have an influence on who we are In the book 'The Strange, Familiar, and Forgotten', Israel Rosenfield recounts how a study of a French woman showed how loss of sensation was found to radically alter memory and sense of being. They found a link between the hippocampus, the regulator of the heart, sensations and memory. We are who we are due to the physical matter of our body and its ability to communicate with parts of the brain, which when we die, eventually turns to dust. It seems if we don't have the core of our physical body (mind/heart and senses) we simply aren't 'us'.
Truly the Hebrews may have had it right when they wrote simply “For the life (Hebrew soul) of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). It seems the ancient Hebrew ideas are more in accord with modern science than the later Greek ideas.
The Hebrew view had a significant effect on their thinking about life after death. In all cases the implication is that the body must live after death. In Job, one of the most ancient Hebrew writings, Job says,
For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my kidneys (heart) be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27)
A much later writing declares that life is only in breathing flesh,
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:5-6)
Daniel is told he will stand in his lot implying a physical presence.
But go you your way until the end; for you shall rest, and shall stand in your lot, at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13)
Their prophet Isaiah declared
Your dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19)
They spoke of a future when people's hearts shall live forever,
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. (Psalm 22:26)
The earlier Hebrew ideas fit better with modern science than the later Greek thought. The Hebrews at least knew if we want to be “us” in an after life, we want our full body back, heart, kidney, brain, blood, mind, emotion and senses intact! All the ancient Hebrews agree that those that live forever will live in their body, with their heart, on the earth.
