Essay On Descartes Mind And Body

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IV. Separation between Mind and Body
Having established external objects exist, Descartes argued for the distinction between the mind and the body as the body being an external material. He stated that the I is intimately joined with the body, and the senses of the body can deceive us. We can get many ideas from the senses, but we know not to judge by our initial senses, unless examined by reasoning or intellect. Descartes would agree that we cannot believe that an elephant at a far distance is smaller than a mouse in near to our eyes just because it appears to be so by our senses; we have to refer back to our knowledge and reasoning to understand of this illusion. Merely the mind, and not the combination of mind and body, consists knowledge and reasoning and is capable of knowing this.
Descartes noted that the body is like a machine and is divisible, but the mind is separate of this body and is not divisible. He
However, he stated that the “I” could not be a deception. The “I” exists, because it is the I who is thinking about universal doubt. Therefore, he regards the I as a thinking thing. Descartes then goes on to prove the existence of God, in the means of disproving the universal doubt. He stated that the I has the idea of God, but could not have been merely thought the idea of God by itself, thus God was the cause of the idea of God. Descartes then stated that external things exist, because God exists and won’t let us be deceived by thinking that there is an external world. He then stated that the mind and body are different, because the body is an external thing that the mind can perceive. He noted that the mind is able to reach clear judgments through memory and intellect than merely just through perceptions from the sensations of the body. Descartes framed the concept of mind and body separation through those

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