The Problems Of Dualism In Ou Descartes: The Problem Of Dualism

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Recommended: Descartes ideas about mind and body

Liang Zhou
Student No.200314592
Philosophy 100
Due date: 3/30/2015
The problem of dualism Descartes proposed that the mind which represents thinking, and the body which represents mechanism are totally distinct-a thesis is called mind-body dualism. He believes the nature of thinking substance which cannot not be extended is completely different from the body which can be extended, and therefore it is possible for one to exist without the other. Some examples can prove that the mind could exist without body such as persistent vegetative state, zombie and some nature physiological response. However, mind-body distinction is a controversial problem today as people may say: normally, the movement of our bodies are controlled by our minds such as writing exams and so on. Therefore, the mind and the body do have interaction in …show more content…

A category-mistake arises when things or facts of one kind are presented as if they belonged to another. According to Ryle, "the logical type or category to which a concept belongs is the set of ways in which it is logically legitimate to operate with it."(Ryle, lx). For example, a friend is invited to visit my home, after being shown the garden, dining room, bedroom, balcony and family members, he will still ask "where is your home?". This would be a category-mistake because the home is not an entity over and above the people and property, it is the people and property. Another example would be if someone were to say his sadness is long, but sadness is a emotion which cannot be said that it is long. Two citizens who pay taxes belong to the same category but the average taxpayer does not. As long as the citizens continue to misunderstand the average taxpayer they will think of him as some peculiarly additional taxpayer. Ryle points out that the mind-body dualism is an illusion produced by this type of misuse of ordinary

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