Cartesian Dualism: The Mind And Body

1463 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Describes ideas of the mind and body

Cartesian dualism refers to the notion that the human being consists of two distinct

substances – the mind and the body. Today this idea is taken for granted, so it is difficult to

imagine that when it is was first theorized by Rene Descartes; it was a truly revolutionary idea.

According to Descartes, the mind and body are two essentially different things that causally

interact. The mind is an immaterial thing responsible for thought that is somehow connected to

the body - a material thing, through which sense perception is possible. In this paper, I will be

analyzing Descartes’ understanding of the relationship between the mind and the body and how

it is problematic.

Descartes is led to insist on the duality of the mind and the body after acknowledging …show more content…

It is essential to Descartes argument that the mind and body are separate that the mind and body

be both clear and distinct ideas. Thus, Descartes proves that the mind can exist independently of

the body. Ultimately, it is the same clarity and distinctness that serves to distinguish the mind

from the body that unites them together as one clear and distinct idea linked to another.

Descartes argues that the mind, an immaterial thing interacts causally with the body, a

material thing. Due to his belief that dualistic interactionism is unique to human beings, it makes

sense that it is difficult for Descartes to make an analogy to illustrate how the mind and body

interact. Descartes compares the mind lodged inside the body to a pilot in a vessel, when he feels

pain or hunger if his mind and body aren’t inextricably united he would simply be aware

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Descartes And Apostle Paul

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, Descartes talks about the mind and the body being very different creatures. The mind is good and the body has earthly desires. Descartes

    Read More

  • Descartes Conceivability Argument Analysis

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    Outline and assess Descartes' arguments for the conclusion that mind and body are distinct substances.

    Read More

  • Difference Between Dualism And Rene Descartes

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Belief whether or not the mind and the body are distinct substances have split the philosopher community in two: the dualists and the monists. In this essay, I will discuss how the mind and body are not distinct based on Rene Descartes’ arguments in The Meditations Of First Philosophy. First, I am going to introduce a few of Descartes’ arguments and his position on the matter. Then, I will pick the most appealing argument and put it up against logical reasoning with other philosophers’ points of view. Finally, I am going to conclude how the 17th-century philosopher proposes a fallacious argument which tests his Cartesian dualism theory.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Soul By Elizabeth And Descartes

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... with the basic notions he had suggested in the letter. In the subsequent letter, he endeavors himself to explain in details what he meant” (Margaret A.: p19). However, to his surprise, Elizabeth is not yet convinced. She says that “despite what explanation Descartes has given so far, she still does not understand the manner in which the soul moves the body” (Margaret A.: p21).

    Read More

  • Cartesian Dualism vs Logical Behaviorism

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    René Descartes was the 17th century, French philosopher responsible for many well-known philosophical arguments, such as Cartesian dualism. Briefly discussed previously, according to dualism, brains and the bodies are physical things; the mind, which is a nonphysical object, is distinct from both the brain and from all other body parts (Sober 204). Sober makes a point to note Descartes never denied that there are causal interactions between mental and physical aspects (such as medication healing ailments), and this recognition di...

    Read More

  • The Theory Of Dualism In Descartes's Theory Of Dualism

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Descartes, Mind and Body are the 2 different kinds of substances that prevail not dependent on one another, but are connected to the absolute substance i.e. God. He believed that substances are the foundation for everything in this world. Substances are present naturally and act like a base.

    Read More

  • Mind Body Dualism

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...n each other and the divisibility of the mind can be explained with examples of memory loss. Descartes claims the mind and body are distinct due to the existence of the body can be doubted and the existence of the mind cannot be doubted as it is a thinking thing. Since the mind is a thinking thing it exists unlike the body therefore the mind can exist without a body. In the Sixth Meditation Descartes further claims they are distinct because the body is a quantitative thing that can be divisible and the mind is a qualitative thing that is indivisible. Although there is some fallacy in Descartes claims as the mind and the body are depend on each other to perform; the mind on the body to act out thought and the body on the mind to function. Memory lost in result of physical injury provides an example of how the mind is divisible and thus the mind and body are linked.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Descartes’ Mind/Body Distinction

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the ways in which Descartes attempts to prove that the mind is distinct from the body is through his claim that the mind occupies no physical space and is an entity with which people think, while the body is a physical entity and cannot serve as a mechanism for thought. [1]

    Read More

  • Rene Descartes: Cartesian Dualism

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Descartian dualism is one of the most long lasting legacies of Rene Descartes’ philosophy. He argues that the mind and body operate as separate entities able to exist without one another. That is, the mind is a thinking, non-extended entity and the body is non-thinking and extended. His belief elicited a debate over the nature of the mind and body that has spanned centuries, a debate that is still vociferously argued today. In this essay, I will try and tackle Descartes claim and come to some conclusion as to whether Descartes is correct to say that the mind and body are distinct.

    Read More

  • Descartes Sixth Meditation

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    From my point of view, however, Descartes needs further argument to prove that the mind and the body are distinct.

    Read More

  • Cartesian Dualism and Gilbert Ryle

    1569 Words  | 4 Pages

    René Descartes theorized Cartesian dualism in his legendary works, Meditations II and VI. He argued that the mind and body were two fundamentally distinct substances capable of existing separately. In his view, the mind is an immaterial, indivisible thinking thing, while the body is a material, divisible thing extended in space (Week 3, Lecture 1, Slide 6). He hypothesized that the mind and body were completely separate, but interacted at the...

    Read More

  • Cartesian Dualism and Gilbert Ryle

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nclude, Ryle is correct in his challenge of Descartes’ Cartesian dualism, the mind and body are not two separate parts as dictated by dualist, rather the working of the mind are not distinct from the body. As a result, an observer can understand the mind of another through the actions of the body. It is the combination that makes up a human, human, as they are one and the same.

    Read More

  • Descartes’, Spinoza’s, and Leibniz’s Response to the Mind-Body Problem

    2994 Words  | 6 Pages

    Descartes is a very well-known philosopher and has influenced much of modern philosophy. He is also commonly held as the father of the mind-body problem, thus any paper covering the major answers of the problem would not be complete without covering his argument. It is in Descartes’ most famous work, Meditations, that he gives his view for dualism. Descartes holds that mind and body are com...

    Read More

  • Descartes: Relationship Between Mind and Body

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Descartes argues that the mind and body can be thought of as separate substances. Descartes writes “I have a body that is very closely joined to me, nevertheless, because … I have a clear and distinct idea of myself, insofar as I am merely a thinking thing and not an extended thing and because … I have a distinct idea of a body, insofar as it is merely an extended thing and not a thinking thing, it is certain that I am really distinct from my body and can exist without it” ( Descartes 50). With this quote, Descartes is saying that the mind and body are separate because he has two distinct ideas of the body and the mind and the body is not a thinking thing as he is but an extended substance. Another point to Descartes argument is that the mind and body are different due to one being indivisible and the other being divisible. Descartes writes “a body, by its very nature, is always divisible. On the other hand, the mind is utterly indivisible” (53). Here is saying that there are ...

    Read More

  • History of Psychology

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the great philosophical distinction between mind and body in western thought can be traced to the Greeks, it is to the influential work of René Descartes, French mathematician, philosopher, and physiologist, that we owe the first systematic account of the mind/body relationship. As the 19th century progressed, the problem of the relationship of mind to brain became ever more pressing.

    Read More

More about Cartesian Dualism: The Mind And Body

Open Document