Descartes Mind-Body Dualism

In his Meditations Rene Descartes aimed to reconstruct the whole of science by trying to prove the distinction between mind and matter. He gives an argument from doubt, and another from conceivability. I will give a brief summary of the foundations Descartes builds his thesis on, and then looking at his arguments and whether they are capable of persuading us that dualism is a logical stance to hold.

Descartes concludes from his first meditation that he is a thinking thing, and as long as he thinks, he exists. In the second meditation, Descartes attempts to define what the “thinking thing” that he concluded himself to be in the first meditation actually was. Descartes’ determines that he gains knowledge of the world, that is, knowledge that is separate from the mind, through the senses; and that the senses can deceive. This he outlines within the first meditation, and mentions on the second meditation. Furthermore, in the second meditation, Descartes refuses to define himself as a rational animal, instead going back and relying on labeling him mind as a thinking thing. In the fifth and sixth paragraphs of the second meditation, Descartes distinguishes the body from the soul. Descartes indicates that there is the presence of the body, and it seems to be in the physical world, but he also notes that his mind does not seem to exist in the same manner. Descartes also claims that the ability to perceive is a power of the soul, but inoperable without the body. Descartes then explores another object with physical substance, which is a piece of wax. The piece of wax is undeniably physical; it takes up space within the material world. The body falls into the category, just as any other physical object in the material world. The main point of Descartes’ second meditation is that any given person can know more about their mind than of the world surrounding them.

Like many people today, Descartes believed that the mind and soul were separate. He believed that the mind’s purpose was only for “thinking” and “non-extended” things. While, the body is an extension; non-thinking. Descartes thought that the mind and body were different substances, thus they

In Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy, he introduces the divisibility argument for his idea of mind-body dualism. It argues that the mind is distinct from the body and that they are different "substances". The argument has two premises; the mind is indivisible and the body is divisible. In this essay, I will interpret Descartes' argument by discussing the key points of these premises and how they are supported. I will also be incorporating my own thoughts on the argument to determine whether the divisibility argument is enough to validate the idea of mind-body dualism.

Rene Descartes was a complex man who had questions about God and the human soul, and preferred to work through problems by eliminating all doubt with a particular issue. He works to prove that God exists and develops arguments to point out the limits between the mind or soul and the body, as well as, corporeal (physical) and incorporeal (mental) properties. When Descartes refers to mental properties, he is alluding to thoughts and emotions. When mentioning physical properties, he is talking about the brain. Hence, mind-body

Descartes dualism proposal is an interesting concept due to its simplicity. Yet, being so simply makes one more and more want to dismiss. His argument begins with what is known as Real Distinction. This is the term used to describe a substance or non-physical object that exists on due to the help of a higher being or power—be it God or science, though Descartes would likely argue for God. The mind, in Descartes view, can only exist because of this higher power. One knows the mind exists simply due to being able to ask the question of its existence. However, to prove that the body exists one must think about the physical nature, shape, and sensations of said body. In Descartes sixth meditation he discusses the idea that a person can conceive their mind without their body, but cannot conceive of the reverse. This argument seems to be the most sounds.

In the Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes discusses the nature of the body and mind. By drawing from three lines of thought, Descartes launches a powerful premise that the body is something distinct from the mind. He conceptualizes his argument by using the uncertainty of knowledge argument, appealing to God’s omnipotence, and describing the indivisibility of the body and mind. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze Descartes’s premise for distinguishing the body and mind.

In Descartes Sixth Meditation he examines the objective reality of material things and the difference between the mind and the body. Descartes approaches the mind and body as two entirely distinct entities that function in close relation, yet independent of one another. In this Descartes refers to himself as a “thinking thing” (Moriarty, 2008, p. 55) in which he is referring to a thing that has doubts, hopes, will, wants, beliefs, dreams, and all other mental abilities. Descartes argues that the body, as a whole, works closely with the mind; however, it is something that is only an “extended thing and not a thinking thing… and [he] can exist without it. (Moriarty, 2008, p. 55) Descartes suggests that he, or his mind, is an essance

Substance dualism is the two separate substances in philosophy that exist, known as the mental and physical. The concept is that physical things do not have thought and mental things have thought but do not contain anything in the physical world. Descartes’s version gives rise to the interaction problem by stating, “we must know that the soul is really joined to the whole body, and that we cannot, properly speaking say that it exists in any one of its parts to the exclusion of the others…” (pg 330). In saying this, Descartes means that the mind and body are distinct. The interaction problem questions whether two diverse substances can collaborate with one another or not. Descartes argues that the nature of mind is very different from the body and is possible that one can exist without the other.

Perhaps one of the most controversial issues in the Cartesian view of mind and body is how the two substances interact. In the book The passion of the Soul Descartes returned to the problem; he suggests that there is a gland in the middle of the brain in charge of the interaction; he maintains that “from there it radiates through the rest of the body by means of the animal spirits”) (Descartes, 1649/1984, p.341). But what does he mean? The pineal gland is itself physical; Gassendi pointed out that “If it is a physical point, the difficulty still stands, since such a point does not wholly lack of parts. If is a mathematical point, then such a point, as you are aware is, purely imaginary” (Descartes, 1641/1985, p.236) To

On of the most lasting and notable legacies of Descartes’ philosophy is mind-body dualism, which may interpreted simply as distinction of mind and body. Descartes argues that the nature of mind that may be understood as thinking, doubting, willing (“thinking thing”) is totally distinguished from the body nature (“non-thinking thing”). It is necessary to identify that Descartes uses the concept of ‘mind’ to refer to the consciousness, thinking self.

Descartes has a very distinct thought when thinking about the mind, and how it relates to the body, or more specifically then brain. He seems to want to explain that the mind in itself is independent from the body. A body is merely a physical entity that could be proven to be true scientifically and also can be proven through the senses. Such things are not possible with the meta-physical mind because it is independent of the body. Building on his previous premises, Descartes finally proves whether material things exist or not and determines whether his mind and body are separate from each other or not. In Meditation Six, Descartes lays the foundation for dualism which has become one of the most important arguments in philosophy.

There are many theories that scholars have articulated in an attempt to explain the nature of the mind. Most likely, we will never agree on one prevailing theory, for ultimately this topic is a matter of subjective thought with very little - if any - empirical evidence shown for the proposed theories.

French philosopher Rene Descartes is often credited with being the “father of modern philosophy”. Part of his immense influence on philosophy is the concept of dualism, the notion that there are physical entities and non-physical, mental entities. In attempting to answer the mind/body problem, examining the link between the mental and the physical, Descartes proposed that the mind is a non-physical entity separate from the body. He tries to show this by speaking of attributes, which is what makes the entity the kind of thing that it is and modes, the specifications of these attributes. His theory proposes distinctive features of the mind over the body and brain, considered a material substance. Most importantly, his theory devises that although the mind and body are distinct from one another, they are intimately related. This means that the mind is in a causal interaction with physical entities, meaning sensation in the mind can cause physical

Mind and body dualism can be regarded as one of the most profound segments of Descartes’ legacy. His assertion was that the mind and the body were not the same thing, and that there was a real distinction between the two. For instance, he believed that the mind was indivisible and the body was actually divisible. His reasoning for that contention was simply put. He explained that when the mind imagines, the whole thing does. Not just a certain part. On the other hand, when the body moves, it is not necessarily the entire body moving. It is only certain parts that are active. This was how it became clear and distinctly perceived that the mind and body were not actually the same thing.