The issues that have confronted philosophy and psychology with respect to the mind-body problem have endured for an extended period of time. By the empiricist view, there is a mind that exists separately from the body and both of these interact with one another. Rationalism, on the other hand, believes that these two are different aspects of the same phenomenon and that the mind is able to control the body by merely thinking of doing so.

One can also analyze the mind-body relation using both of these tendencies. Empiricism leans more towards seeking for a material base to carry out mental processes while rationalism seeks to emphasize more on the mental aspect particularly in the understanding of body activities. In order to speak in terms of mind and body integration, the full spectrum of understanding both directions, that indeed interplay exists between the two, should come to light.