Given that all there is is matter and motion (materialism), and that motion is as much a fundamental part of reality as matter or entities are, we can begin to see a very basic framework for understanding the mind. Consciousness is not a thing, it is not an item, it is a process. Since we cannot have actions without entities, the thing acting in this case is the physical brain. Since we cannot have entities without actions, the action in this case is consciousness.
Ayn Rand was against materialism, with a good reason: Most philosophers and intellectuals have used materialism in a way to deny the reality of the mind and free will, and the principle vehicle for doing this was determinism. I'm very sympathetic to Rand and Objectivism, and one of the points I differ with her on is that materialism is not a denial of the mind and it does not have to lead to determinism. I think that materialism is an explanation of consciousness, not a refutation of it.
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