Examples Of Substance Dualism

In this paper, I will explain and argue for two-way interactive substance dualism. Dualism is a term referred to the idea that there are only two basic kinds of things and everything real is categorized under those two things. Dualism is split into two types, substance dualism, and property dualism. Substance dualism is the idea that the mind and body are two different sorts of basic substance, whereas property dualism is our mental and physical properties are two separate types of basic properties even though they may be properties of the same thing (lecture). Branching from dualism, mind-body dualism argues that the mind and body are two separate entities. Although they are two different substances, i.e. brain/body being material and

Physicalists believe in the philosophical position that everything, which exists, is no more extensive than its physical properties, and that the only existing substance is physical (Mastin 2008). Another term used to describe two-way interactive substance dualism is Cartesian dualism, which was defended by Descartes. Cartesian dualism is the idea that mind is not the same thing as matter, although they do causally affect each other.

Descartes expands Cartesian dualism further in his Spatial Divisibility Argument, which states:

P | 1. Bodies (material objects) are spatially divisible.

P | 2. Minds are not spatially divisible

1,2 | 3. Thus minds are not identical with bodies (material objects).

In this argument, Descartes is stating that the mind and body are not identical. And spatial divisibility is a property of matter/ body while it is not a property of the mind i.e. is not spatially divisible. By digging deeper into this

In my experience, I am aware of many cases in which my body affects my mind (I stub my toe & I feel pain) and many cases in which my mind affects my body (I feel an itch & I scratch it).

1 | 2 Minds and bodies causally interact

P | 3 If Minds are nonphysical and non-spatial things (as Descartes claimed) then there is no way they could causally affect or be affected by bodies (in space) – they cannot connect or make contact.

2,3 | 4 Minds are not nonphysical non-spatial things This argument supports the claim that the body and mind are two in the same. Premise 1 explains the reason we feel pain from stubbing our toe is that the mind and body work together. In a Dualist view minds are non-physical and non-spatial. Based on the assumption that our mind can be spatially divided there is no way to prove this because the only way the mind can be divided is in space and we can’t verify this to be true. Two-way interactive dualism accurately describes the connections between our bodies and minds because we can see they causally affect each other. As a result, we as human beings cannot always determine what physical state we are in, but we always know where we stand