Whether the mental is derived from the bodily or the bodily from the mental ...

Painting by Charlie and Eddie Proudfoot 

About 75 years ago, in the dark times of the II World War, Roman Ingarden, one of the greatest philosophers of the XX century wrote: 

"It thus appears advisable for the time being – until such time as material investigation will make possible a rational insight into the generic essence of the mental (or of consciousness) on the one hand, and of the body on the other – to refrain from judging whether the mental is derived from the bodily or the bodily from the mental, or whether they are both ultimately derived from some third factor."

Despite all the progress in neuroscience, in cognitive sciences and artificial intelligence, these words have not lost their actuality and power...

 

About Roman Ingarden:
Roman Ingarden - Wikipedia 
The Roman Ingarden Philosophical Research Center - Philosophical Research Centre (uj.edu.pl)
Roman Ingarden (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)