The Argument of Dualism Essay

In essence, Cartesian Dualism attempts to solve the mind-body problem – that is, what is the relationship between the mind and the body? The answer, according to this theory, is that the mind and the body are two distinctly different substances that constitute each person. Here, “mind” can be described as a nonphysical thing that thinks and “body” as a living physical thing that does not think. The mind can also exist independently of the body, and both can causally affect one another.

Descartes is a dualist and John Locke is a monist and they are both historical figures of psychology. Dualism is when a person believes an actuality can be physical and non-physical. In addition, humans are made up of a mind, god, spirt, or soul which can be defined as an immaterial substance that exists along with the brain and body. I am a dualist like Descartes because I believe that I have a physical body and I will be able to preform and participate in physical activities, but once I pass away I believe that my spirit will live on and go to heaven. I believe once people die they will be able to see their past family members and friends that have pasted away in this separate world that us humans know nothing about. People who believe in

Dualism is defined as a belief that mental occurrences are more than just a physical act. Humans are composed of two kinds of substances which are immaterial and physical. The immaterial substance consists of the mind or soul and the physical substance consists of the body. Moreland attempts to make nonbelievers believe in the immaterial soul by mentioning that there are numerous non-physical entities that we believe in, such as numbers, goodness and moral laws. This ultimately leads to the defense of dualism and rejecting the physicalism worldview that is present with those that deny that the mind and body are separate entities.

Dualism claims that the mind is a distinct nonphysical thing, a complete entity that is independent of any physical body to which it is temporarily attached.

At the start, I will talk about the argument from the religion aspect for dualism. Most major world religions are based on separating the ‘mind’ and ‘body’. The eternal ‘mind’ or soul either ends up in heaven or hell, free from the ‘body’ itself. According to a number of religions, there is some sort of life after you die; a good example of this is angels which some call the ‘mind’ of god exists without any physical presence. This is what we come to know as substance dualism or something that is very relative to a form of substance dualism. As a result, "seeing how uncertain dualism is, in principle, the similar would be a willing to also be uncertain in one 's religious tradition, which a lot of people find challenging to do". [Churchland] Yet, it must

Substance dualism, or Cartesian dualism, is a theory of the mind which separates the mind from the body by having two substances: material, of the body; and immaterial, of the mind. The body cannot think, but is able to perceive and interact with the material world directly. On the other hand, the mind is immaterial and is, instead, only connected to the physical world through the body. The mind exists in an independent and secluded state. While the body cannot think, therefore function, without the mind, the mind only needs the body to explore the material world.

One statement is that mental states can’t be true or false unlike where physical states can. One cannot say that it's false to obtain love or it's true to obtain love. You cannot compare the mental state to a physical state being the mental state is a different state of dimension. Using introspection, one can say that he knows his mind via introspection, but he cannot know his brain via introspection. This means that both mental and physical states are indeed different. This means that you cannot translate neural activity that is firing in your brain, but you can translate thoughts, beliefs, and desires that are in your mind. This difference of the mental state in opposite of the physical state validities the argument that dualist

His first doubt in his book is the knowledge gained through his senses. " Whatever I have accepted until now as mostly true has come to me through my senses. But occasionally they have deceived me, and it is unwise to trust completely in those who have deceived us, even once (Descartes). Descartes believed that knowledge gained through sense experience could not be reliable because he could not prove whether he was actually experiencing something or just dreaming of that particular experience.

     For centuries philosophers have debated on monism and dualism, two different philosophical views of the human person. Philosophers have been trying to decipher whether the person is made up of the mind, the body, or both. Monists hold the belief that existence is purely based upon one ultimate “category of being” this means that either the person is made up of only the body or only the mind (Morris p155). Dualists hold the belief that existence is based upon the body as well as the mind and its mental properties (Morris p155).

     Descartes overall project is to find a definite certainty on which he can base all his knowledge and beliefs. A foundation that he will be able to prove without a doubt. To find a definite certainty he uses a methodical doubt, this states that anything that could be doubted must be taken as false. This is done to find an absolute certainty for

Dualism is a philosophy that in its most basic form holds that the mind is comprised of a nonphysical substance, while the body is composed of the physical substance called matter. This type of dualism is called substance dualism, or Cartesian Dualism. This type of dualism was formulated by Rene Descartes, who was

Dualism covers the issue that is concerned with the connection between the mind and the brain, and whether humans are composed of all physical matter or contain a mind along with a physical body. Dualism is the belief that humans have both a non-physical mind along with a physical body. There are two types of dualism, which include Substance Dualism and Property Dualism. Substance Dualism claims the mind exists independently from the body, and Property Dualism claims the brain causes the mind into existence. When compared to the other beliefs mentioned prior, Dualism provides strong arguments made by René Descartes and Gottfried Leibniz that help us understand and answer the questions previously mentioned. The main differences between Substance Dualism and Property Dualism are not far

“The mind-body dualism, in philosophy, is the fact that any theory that the mind and body are distinct kinds of substances or natures. This position implies that mind and body not only differ in meaning, but refer to different kinds of entities (Britannica).” The most basic form of dualism is substance dualism. Substance dualism is the idea that he mind and body are composed of two ontologically distinct substances. According to one who believes and studies dualism, the mind is comprised of a non-physical substance, while the body is constituted of the physical substance, also known as matter. Dualism is closely related to the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Descartes identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness and distinguished this from the brain. He believed that the brain was the seat of all intelligence. This lead to a great debate over the mind and body. So, ultimately, what is the nature of the mind and consciousness and its relationship to the body?

A more contemporary version of dualism is property dualism. P. F. Strawson, in the papers “Persons” (1958) and “Self, mind and body” (1966) explore the concept of person, and he is not agree with the Cartesian view, that a person is just ‘a mind’. As a result, Strawson leadership a view of the person comprise of a body and a mind equally applicable to an individual, not just as two separate substances. But how this new view of the person derives in a new kind of dualism? The answer can be found in the Strawson’s definition of a person; Strawson proposes that there are two predicates that are equally applicable to the concept of person. Strawson (1958/1991) explicitly said that:

The theory or doctrine of mind-brain identity, as its name implies, denies the claim of dualists that mind and brain (or consciousness and matter) are distinct substances. The tradition of dualism, whose clear-cut foundations laid by Rene Descartes (1596-1650) were built upon during succeeding centuries, sharply distinguishes between the stuff of consciousness and the stuff of matter.