Similarities Between Frankenstein And Descartes

There are evident similarities between Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Both Frankenstein and his creation share a love for nature, a longing for knowledge, and a desire for companionship.

A body is just a body without a brain to command it and a brain can only do so much without a body to yield. It’s undeniable that the mind and body are completely dependent on the other to function, but where do they join together to form a unique individual. To what extent do the mind and body bridge together to form a unique individual? Is there even a bridge that connects them or are the mind and body separate entities who solely rely on each other to function, but that’s where all the shared boundaries that create a person end.

The Mind-Body Problem is the debate on how both the mind and the body interract with eachother, and how they are connected. The mind is all about mental processes, thought, and consciousness. The body is about the physical aspects of the brain and the brain’s neurons, and how the brain is structured. Many of the questions asked about this problem are along the lines of; is the mind apart of the body or is the body apart of the mind? In this essay I will be explaining the arguments, counterarguments, and responses this particular problem.

Descartes through his method of doubt, hopes to present an unbiased search for the truth. His tactic was to show that, regardless of the finest arguments, there is at least one instinctive truth that is beyond all doubt, from which the human knowledge can be deduced. This search brings Descartes to the realization of his own existence and ultimately demonstrate God’s

In On the Nature of Things, Lucretius argues that not only is the whole of the human body (both tangible parts, like organs, and intangible concepts, like the soul) created from distinct types of atoms, but that this is the basis upon which an afterlife may be disproved.

Mary Shelley’s life has a huge connection to the story of Frankenstein. The tragedies that take place in Frankenstein relates to her life in many ways. Mary Shelley was born on August 30 1797. She was very well creative and very smart and well educated.

The unique structure and narratives of frankenstein determined what we can approach characteristics of main character in the book through various perspectives from different narrators. By developing her story through epistolaries, Mary Shelley employs a lot of parallels to demonstrate similarities between different narrators. Especially from the second volume of Frankenstein, in which the monster begins to narrate his own story, we can easily derive mountains of similarity between Frankenstein and his monster. First of all, Both of their passions for exploration reveal their similar interests toward new knowledge. Secondly, Both of them are so fascinated by the nature around

Not my mere body But the universe that makes up my soul consists

Are we just bundles of physical particles, or are we something more? Throughout the history of the modern and ancient world, there have always been questions about what is it that this world is made of and likewise, what we ourselves are made of. Do we actually have this beautiful, ethereal thing called a soul, or is this some unsubstantiated claim that we just like to believe because it makes us feel better? The philosophers questioning the nature of the mind/”soul” and posing questions regarding them as those have traditionally articulated their into two camps of theories (or at least an overwhelming majority fall into these camps). There are the Physicalists, and there are the Dualists. To put their ideas in the most basic of terms is fairly easy. Physicalists believe that 1) there is one thing/substance that constitutes the entirety of the universe (namely matter) and 2) that is all there is and therefore, knowing the physical particles accounts for everything (Stoljar 2009, 2 & 3). Dualists are quite a bit more ambiguous and flexible in regards to theories, but think of them as “counter-physicalists”. Most dualists subscribe to the overall belief that 1) this universe is more than solely the physical 2) no matter what the physical particles do constitute, be it 99.9999% of the world, it will never account for everything, and 3) the mind or soul – or at the very least some of its qualities or capabilities – is one of those unaccountable things, and is

This theory explains that souls are immortal and will carry onto the afterlife. They are the part of people that hold onto thoughts, feelings, and make up the complete essence of who we are. Swinburne explains that souls are not necessarily ties to a human body. If one person were to place his soul in another person’s body, that other person would be the original person. He would have those thoughts and desires of the original

To Be Certain, Doubt Descartes approaches what is arguably his most daunting philosophical venture, determining the core essence of himself, with blanket, fastidious doubt. It is this factor of his mindset alone that allows him to arrive at the conclusions he reaches; his most commonly known thesis being “Cogito ergo sum,” or “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes’ doubt allows him to discount information previously held by his mind, including sensory input and his entire memory, in order to build a new and indubitable foundation for his sense of self, and therefore his methods of philosophizing. In selections from Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes carefully records each component of his destruction, and restoration, of his concept of himself- he is left with an inarguable truth that he truly exists, exclusively as a thing that thinks, and that the action of thought is inseparable from himself.

It is the dynamism of experience that distracts the bodily part of the soul and therefore the part of it that connects to the One. Of course soul maintains its identity to the Divine indefinitely, but it experiences through matter and cannot avoid experiencing through matter while it is within the body. It therefore tries to find value of itself within the world when it is set apart from its essence. Plotinus suggests that soul is the power within the body when he says: “For what is body but earth, and even if it be fire…, what (but soul) is its burning power?” (113). But the true radiance of the soul is, in a way, confined to the body. The soul must strive to maintain self-awareness, yet it does not need to remove itself from the body to do this. Therefore, it must learn not to experience itself within the body meaning it must learn not to experience the soul in matter. However, the soul in matter is what overwhelms it with earthly emotion. For example, the experience of fear can distract a human from what it really loves, therefore, fear could distract the soul from its higher good. The soul forgets its place whilst strong emotion that relates directly to terrestrial matter throws it off course. It is the soul within matter in which creates experience or emotion that holds the soul to the body, and therefore to itself in the material

I believe there are both an immaterial part to you and a physical part. The physical part of you cannot survive without the immaterial. The immaterial part of a person is the soul, which I also believe, is the mind. However, your soul can live on without the physical sense of you. I believe that the physical part of you, your body, is acting like a cage to your soul. The body is kind of like a suit that your soul wears while it is on Earth. There is only one part of you that controls your actions and thoughts, which is your mind. Also, I believe that your body without a soul is just dead. If your soul and body are no longer at one then I believe you soul moves on to another world where your body is just dead. Once the soul and body are no longer connected the body has no purpose and has no actions. Since without the soul the body is nothing but matter then the soul is that part that is making all decisions, which is why I believe it is also the mind. It is the part of a person that make up a personality or gives a person reason. I believe the mind is the only part of a person that makes decisions and puts your physical body in action. With believing that the soul is in a body but the soul does not need the body, I

Imagine you’re writing a final exam. You’re feeling anxious because you didn’t study. Now you’re franticly trying to recall any piece of information. While experiencing these different mental states one might think it’s just the physical brain processing that feeling of nervousness and brings information to our consciousness. But is there something other than the brain controlling our mental states? Most people would call this the mind. Some philosophies describe the mind as “simply a physical thing” while others believe the mind “is a non-physical entity … sometimes called ‘the ghost in the machine.’” (Friedenber & Silverman, 2006. p.30) This essay will briefly describe three major philosophies that try to explain the mind body problem.

The mind-body problem has been pondered on for many centuries about how are the soul or mind, which holds beliefs, thoughts, and actions are related to the physical body. Rene Descartes would separate the mind and body into two different categories. This will be called Cartesian Dualism or Descartes’ theory of the mind, where the mind is immaterial and can only hold mental stuff while the body can only be involved with physical things and movements. The other side of this argument would be the absence of the mind and only the brain exists, therefore our brain is the origin for our thoughts, beliefs, and experiences. This leads to the fundamental problem of dualism: how does an intangible thing (mind) can interact with a physical thing (body)?