Psych Unit 1 question

[insightfullyme]

Hi, I'm stuck on this question, can someone help me?

Why would brain and/or heart dissection alone not provide substantial evidence of the role of either in mental process and behaviour?

Thanks in advance!

[sarangiya]

Hi, I'm stuck on this question, can someone help me?

Why would brain and/or heart dissection alone not provide substantial evidence of the role of either in mental process and behaviour?

Thanks in advance!

Before I answer, don't sweat to much on questions like these. This is kind of a philosophical question, and it will not appear in any 1/2 or 3/4 exams/SACs that you have.
But for the sake of an answer, I'll write my opinion.

The aim of dissection is to analyse structure, not function.
Functions of the brain and heart, such as mental/physiological processes and behaviour, cannot be deduced through dissection and observation of anatomy alone. This is because processes and behaviour are transient, occur in real time, and leave little physical evidence for their existence. Therefore, the observation of gross anatomy that is no longer living will not provide sufficient evidence that the structure has taken part in the function.
For example, a memory is unlikely to have a physical embodiment, because the more that were created the more space would be taken up (which so far hasn't been observed). If there is no physical evidence of the mental process of memorisation that is observable through the dissection of the heart or brain, then there is no evidence that connects the anatomy and behaviour.