The Importance Of The Mind-Body Problem

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” - René Descartes. (Goodreads) Well, taking Monsieur Descartes advice, let’s wrestle with the Mind-Body problem, an issue that he himself is famous for answering. This problem is almost as old as the academy of philosophy itself. It seems that every ancient old man with a white beard has had his say in what the answer is, and it appears that the vast majority of philosophers have agreed in varying degrees that the Mind is more important than the Body. As a wide generalization, it’s my understanding that this is because the Mind is the center of knowledge, of undoubted reality, while bodies are simply decaying

And here I am, doubting (almost) every world renowned philosopher who has tackled this question. When I speak of the importance of Body in the Mind-Body problem, it’s impossible not to mention Rebecca Goldstein. In her book “The Mind-Body Problem,” she develops this “philosophy of the body.” She and I are in agreement when we say that the Body is a vital and important piece to the puzzle. However, an intellectual genius such as Descartes is not one to be ignored. He says “Whatever I have up till now accepted as most true and assured I have gotten either from the senses or through the senses. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once” (Meditations on First Philosophy). Descartes, and Noam throughout the book, apply the school of thought that the Mind is the only thing that can truly bring truth, because the body is sometimes deceptive and should therefore not be an accurate representation of truth or knowledge. Therefore, How important is Body to Knowledge? Upon reading the above quote one would say not at all, since it should be considered unreliable. But going back to the quote, he says that everything he has learned is from or through the senses. In other words: Everything his Mind has learned (because the Mind only learns what it is taught) was through his Body. So you tell me, is the Body important to

There are multiple kinds of knowledge. There is the knowledge that we gain from books, from lecture, from the academy; There is knowledge of philosophical theories, and mathematics, and incorporeal things. And then there is the knowledge that the physical world gives you. Mind you, we are now employing the state of mind that welcomes the physical world as reality. It is through the Body that the Mind learns and the Soul grows. But remember, we are still considering Soul as part of the Mind. This knowledge that our body allows us to gain is not to be overlooked. While the incorporeal knowledge has a sort of beauty to it, with its unwavering certainties and rules, the sloppy, dirty, confusing, complicated corporeal knowledge we compile is beautiful, too. The very fact that we all experience life, all experience the same exact situations in different ways, is in itself beautiful. There is so much knowledge to be gained from your Body. Although we experience life as a conscious mind housed in a body, it is not to say that the body is not important. Without your body you simply do not exist in this world. To say that knowledge from the physical world should be considered false is ludicrous. I accidentally touched a hot stove as a child. As my body recoiled away, my mind quickly learned not to touch the stove, and that burns hurt. As an athlete I learned the