Monism And Dualism Similarities

Are the mind and the brain identical? The brain is something that is a physical, fundamental part of a human’s composition. Something that is made up of matter. Physical things tend to have a life span, a time limit on how long they will last. The mind however is seen as nonphysical, something that potentially doesn’t have a limit on its life and could theoretically go on forever. When your body dies and decomposes, does your mind die and decompose too? I do not believe it does. In my research on the mind and the brain, I came across two very different types of theories; Monism and Dualism. Monism focuses on the belief that the mind and the brain are one. Whereas dualism describes the mind and the brain as separate. There is the view that there

are two different kinds, the physical things and the mental things. The claim that I will be defending is the claim that dualism exists, that the mind and the brain are not identical. There have been many researchers who have given their insight and research into the dualism debate of the differences between the brain and the mind such as; Plato and Rene’ Descartes.
Rene Descartes was one prominent philosopher who had strong views in support of dualism.

He believed that the mind was completely separate from the body. He supported the idea that it was completely possible to for each of these things to exist without the other (Skirry, 2015). This is called substance dualism. Where the physical things do not hold any thought and spread into space. Whereas the mental things, are things with all thought and no involvement into that of the physical world. Descartes main argument for dualism is one of indivisibility. He believes that the mind is strictly indivisible whereas the body is divisible. An example of this argument and how it relates to dualism is that if “a foot or an arm or any other bodily part amputated, I know that nothing would be taken away from the mind.” (Calef, 2015). In Descartes eyes, a man is only something that thinks, or in other words, man is mind. To me this describes the body as something where the mind is located within. He does state that humans are far different than any other substances out there (such as objects) in the way that the mind and the body are used in conjunction with each other. In this I believe means that the brain, being a physical part of the body, is not what makes a man. A brain is what works in conjunction with the man (the mind) to enable life in the physical

sense.
Dualism in Plato’s eyes is the idea that the mind is confined within the body throughout the body’s life and that reincarnation exists once death of the body occurs, Platonic Dualism. Meaning that the soul existed before and survives after the body and this is when its most pure knowledge is obtained (Calef, 2015). Plato’s views originated from the Phaedo which was about the final days before Socrates executed himself (Calef, 2015). These views demonstrated that all things existing on earth have a corresponding ‘form’ (http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/oldsite/pom/pom_platonism.htm). ‘Theory of forms’ A form being the ‘perfect idea’ of what it is to be that object or thing. Plato believed that the acquisition of knowledge was through an acknowledgement of these so called forms. He argues that the sole is indestructible. That it not only pre-exists before birth but it also continues on after death. One of the arguments that gives fuel to Plato’s views is that of the argument of opposites. This argument states that “things that have an opposite, come to be from their opposite” (Calef,2015). In my opinion this means that, to be able to live, we must have died, and to die, means we must have lived. Our minds (or souls) must die to be able to live and live to be able to die. Supporting what Plato’s Phaedo describes and further strengthening in my view the belief that the brain and the mind are not identical. Another argument that Plato discussed is an additional reason as to why I agree with the thoughts of the dualist is the argument from recollection. This is the idea that we can recollect memories or knowledge from before birth that would have otherwise been impossible to know. I have confidence in the fact that this means or souls and minds must have pre-existed our bodies.
John Locke was also another philosopher who was believed to have held a view of dualism with regards to the mind-body relationship debate. His argument states the question “is a man free?” (Odegard, 1970). He argues that a man determines his own freedom not his will. Therefore the mind is free. “A man, then, is a mind, i.e. a mental being, which has, and not is, a body of a certain kind” (Odegard, 1970). This explains that what Locke believed is that what made a man, and what made a man free, was his mind. Furthermore, that the mind is a mental thing and therefore far different from the body. The body is somewhere where the mind was located, but they were far different things.

Although I have found numerous and strong views on that of dualism, there still remains a counter argument to be discussed that opposes these beliefs. The view that I will be discussing will be that of Materialism. Materialism challenges the views of dualism in that it states that it is only possible for physical things to exist. Those things that are made up of matter. One philosopher who was historically known to hold opposing views to dualism was a man called Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes strongly believed in the materialist view in that humans were/are only made from materials and certainly not a combination of anything else, especially anything immaterial. He challenged those beliefs and views of dualists so much so that he even stated that was only created and only existed in a physical sense (Duncan, 2013). Hobbes specifically targets beliefs such as that of Rene Descartes regarding his view mentioned previously in this paper. The opinion that the mind and the body are two distinctively different things. Hobbes challenges this view by stating only that he trusts that these accounts were arrived to as a result of gross error. I have come to realise that Hobbes believed that he could study everything in the world by looking at their sciences because in his eyes there was nothing else to study because everything was physical.
Throughout this paper I have examined two distinctive positions on the mind-body relationship debate. Those of the views of Dualism, held by that of Rene Descartes, Plato and Locke. Opposed to the beliefs in Materialism as a monist opinion such as those of Thomas Hobbes. I have confidence in my ability to understand that in regards to the specific opinions and beliefs outlined in my research in the subject, that there is no weight to Tomas Hobbes opposition to Dualism. I do not believe that he can thoroughly and/or accurately prove that those views of Descartes are wrong. The idea that the mind is there and present before birth and that it continues on well after death can, in my opinion cannot be disproved. I support Plato’s argument that a soul or the mind can be present before birth and live on after. This idea of the theory of forms has more substance on the basis that humans can in fact obtain more knowledge of the mind before birth and after death. In summary and response to the question, are the mind and the brain identical? I do not believe they are. Throughout writing this paper I have come to the conclusion that I completely support the views of Locke, Plato and especially Descartes. I believe that there is more to the debate than just physical things. That there must be another side to the equation. I do not believe the mind and brain are identical but I do believe that they work alongside one and other at some points to maintain life as we know it.