The Mind Body Problem And Cartesian Dualism - 1024 Words

Dayna Gelman Justin Pannell April 24, 2015 PHI 107 The Mind-Body Problem and Cartesian Dualism In this paper I will argue for Cartesian dualism to be the most plausible solution to the mind-body problem. Cartesian dualism argues that there is a two-way interaction between mental and physical substances. Renee Descartes, the creator of the theory, believed that a man consisted of matter, the physical things that walk and talk etc., and mind, the nonphysical substance (often correlated with the soul) that thinks, doubts, remembers, etc. The first argument in Cartesian Dualism is the Argument from doubt. We are supposed to be following Descartes along his meditations in the search for something metaphysically certain. Descartes starts by†¦show more content†¦Hence, there is no conceivable consistent story I can tell myself in which I fail to exist. Therefore, the Cogito is metaphysically certain, that â€Å"just one thing†¦certain and unshakeable.† As mentioned before, Descartes proposes that the mind and body are two separate and distinct entities. In anoth er argument, Descartes reasoning is, â€Å"If we can exist without bodies, then we cannot be bodies. We can exist without bodies. Therefore, we cannot be bodies.† This is often called the ‘modal argument’ for substance dualism. It has this name because it correlates directly to the possibility of a mind or person existing without a body. Applying this to the mind-body debate we can say the following. Other philosophers and theorist’s claim that the mind and body are identical, therefore one cannot exist without the other. However in contrast, if the mind and body are not identical, as substance dualists claim, then one can exist without the other. Finally, my last major argument for substance dualism is religion. Each of the major religions places a strong belief in life after death, and that there is an immortal soul that will survive death. This very closely resembles substance dualism. The mind can essentially be interchanged for the immortal soul. This argument is primarily the basis for my own belief in substance dualism. My personal experiences growing up in a Methodist family has provided me with insight and believab ility for this argument. If one believes