interactionisim

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The metaphysical opinion that body and mind, having like modes of existence, act and react upon each other somewhat as two bodies may do, and that this is the manner in which forces acting upon the organs of sense affect the mind and in which volitions produce contractions of the muscles. Those who hold this opinion do not consider themselves as materialists for several reasons, among which is their belief that matter can not feel, as the soul can; but they do hold the mind to be, in important respects, similar to matter. The principal advocate of this opinion is Lotze, who is particularly explicit in details in his “Microcosmus” and “Medicinal Psychology.”