It seems you're talking about what William James called the "Mind Stuff Theory" [1]. He ended up rejecting it, but even a hundred years later our conceptions ar

It seems you're talking about what William James called the "Mind Stuff Theory" [1]. He ended up rejecting it, but even a hundred years later our conceptions are too muddled to have good arguments either way. [1] http://psychclassics.asu.edu/James/Principles/prin6.htm http://psychclassics.asu.edu/James/Principles/prin6.htm