Products of the mind

This morning I read an article in the Guardian about the late and former NFL star Dave Duerson. On February 17, 2011, Duerson killed himself inside his apartment in Florida by shooting himself in the heart. Though he had experienced several bad setbacks over the past several years, including a faltering business and divorce, family and doctors do not attribute these to his death. The cause, they say, was a disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a severe degeneration of structures in the brain due to repeated blows to the head. The disease is most commonly found in athletes who participate in sports featuring strong physical contact, such as boxing, hockey, and American football.

Those closest to Duerson reported that he was becoming increasingly unable to focus on complex problems and recently made many uncharacteristically bad business decisions. He also suffered severe mood swings and was unable to enjoy his usual happy demeanor. Hours before his death, he had unofficially arranged for his brain to be examined by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. It seems that he understood that his life was deteriorating due to the problems with his brain.

Stories like this one remind me how much we are products of our own minds, and not just of our thoughts. Many people have turned to ideas borrowed from eastern philosophies for finding happiness within their lives. Own little; eat lightly; think positively. There is however no amount of positive thought that can overcome depression when there is a physical reason for it.

But how are we to recognize the difference between the two causes---external and internal? I suspect that the growth of modern neuroscience will lead to new (albeit incomplete) understandings of the physical causes of depression, which in turn will lead to medicines with the possibility of their misapplication. Is it right to prescribe an anti-depression drug when the stress is external and natural or holistic remedies exist? These questions are of course relevant now, but I think it is enlightening to examine them from a philosophical context, especially one that attributes so much power to the mind in finding happiness for oneself.