The body was matter and all matter was simply extension, inertia moved by other things or describable in terms of space, depth, distance or length.
Descartes believed that the mind and body were two distinct substances: one of extension and divisibility, the other non-corporeal and indivisible.
The issue surrounds how the two substances could be seen to interact.
Secondly he seems to forget that we only have one tongue as a sense organ.
Zinn (1749) argued that the brain is fully divisible after split brain experiments on dogs.
The soul or ‘mind’ (res cogitans) as Descartes saw it, was radically different. It was not in motion but simply an indivisible thinking thing.
In his work Meditations Descartes outlines the fact that his body is divisible. This led him to believe that the mind and body were separate as he could imagine his mind without a body.Although, technically, Descartes is not on the specification as a named philosopher, his work is too important to ignore in the mind/body debate.The essay below was hand written in 45 minutes (and subsequently typed up without alterations – save a few spelling corrections).It may be argued that at least Leibniz and Malebranche remain true to their philosophical values rather than accepting a dubious ‘out’ in the guise of the pineal gland to slip the noose of Interactionism.However Leibniz and Malebranche’s theories did not pass the test of time mainly because of the lack of both causal power and moral responsibility we are left with if we accept their views.The justification of the sceptical method of doubting is too shaky to accept.The second issue we have is the issue of interactionism.He suggested that he may be being deceived by an evil deceiver but stressed that he had the concept of God as a supremely perfect being implanted in his mind.Since God, being perfect, could not deceive him he could trust his mental faculties. The argument is fallacious as the concept of God in his mind relies on his mental faculties being correct and his mental faculties rely on the concept of God not being some evil deceiver. Moreover, Descartes believed that God could do the logically impossible so it is plausible in this view, that God could be deceiving his faculties in to believing his thoughts are accurate.The logical problem arising from this was his contention that the mind could be separate from the body.He employed the method of doubting but did not believe that he could deny his mind because he was thinking (cogito ergo sum – “I think, therefore I am”).
Comments Substance Dualism Essays
The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism Blackwell.
A groundbreaking collection of contemporary essays from leading international scholars that provides a balanced and expert account of the resurgent debate.…
The Descartes essay - Times Higher Education
Sep 18, 2008. The first argument in Cartesian Dualism is the Argument from doubt. This leads to the conclusion that the mind is of a different substance from.…
Dualism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Aug 19, 2003. In the philosophy of mind, dualism is the theory that the mental and the. 5.2.1 Unity and Bundle Dualism; 5.2.2 Unity and Substance Dualism. Consciousness Psychological and Philosophical Essays, Oxford Blackwell.…
Soul, Body, and Survival Essays on the Metaphysics of. - jstor
Pp. 15-29. JOHN FOSTER. Insofar as it concerns the nature of the mind, substance dualism—orCartesiandualism as I prefer to call it—makes three claims.¹.…
Mind–body dualism - Wikipedia
Mind–body dualism, or mind–body duality, is a view in the philosophy of mind that mental. Substance dualism is contrasted with all forms of materialism, but property dualism may be considered a form of. In his essay "Is Theology Poetry?…
Essay Critically Assess Descartes' View of the Soul -
Jan 19, 2012. The essay below was hand written in 45 minutes and subsequently. Descartes was a substance dualist and a product of the renaissance.…
A Critique of Descartes' Mind-Body Dualism
To the existence of a corporeal, extended substance his body, as distinct from his mind. Keywords Descartes, Cartesian method, mind-body dualism, cogito.…
The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism Wiley.
May 10, 2018. A groundbreaking collection of contemporary essays from leading international scholars that provides a balanced and expert account of the.…
Substance dualism vs physicalism – Rodenburg Blog
Nov 17, 2015. A substance dualist maintains that the nature of man has two. Ryle's aim in his essay is to prove, among other things, that Cartesian dualism.…
Materialism vs dualism essays
Dualism claims that the mind is separate from the body. This can be broken down into substance dualism and property dualism. Substance dualism, introduced.…