Descartes` Dualism

Descartes ' Dualism

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29 November 2006 Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Descartes ' Dualism 3

Comments on Descartes ' Philosophy 6

Bibliography 8

Introduction

The concept of Dualism or the theory that there is a division between the mind and the body is not a novel one . It originated as early as the time of Plato and Aristotle . Rene Descartes ' concept of Dualism otherwise known as Cartesian Dualism , is considered one of his greatest contributions in the history of philosophy . He was the first to argue

br that the mind is a non-material entity which is distinct and separate from the brain . He also identified the mind with concepts such as self-awareness and self-consciousness . It is widely regarded that the sharp division between the mind and the body is the most basic fact of our human existence

This essay will focus on Descartes ' concept of Dualism . The very foundations of his philosophy which led him to the theory of dualism will likewise be tackled . Concepts such as Cogito Ergo Sum will also be discussed since it serves as the foundation for Cartesian dualism . At the concluding part of this , I intend to state my position on Descartes ' Dualism

Descartes ' Dualism

In his work , Meditations , Descartes began his journey by clearing the mind of all the rubbish knowledge that had been handed down from generations to generations . He was aware that the ideas of his contemporaries were all shaped by biases and prejudices . He challenged himself to eliminate these prejudices so that he could arrive at the very foundations of knowledge . He also refused to accept the Aristotelian and Scholastic philosophy which had dominated the traditional philosophical thought throughout the Medieval Period ( Rene Descartes ) He thought that if true knowledge is to be attained then we must start from the very foundation of our knowledge

He thus began his philosophy by doubting everything that he could not be certain . Descartes doubted everything around him . He doubted the existence of the physical universe and even his body . He thought that it is very much possible that he could be hallucinating about the existence of this physical world or his physical self . He even doubted his senses , to wit : All that I have , up to this moment , accepted as possessed of the highest truth and certainty , I received either from or through the senses . I observed , however , that these sometimes misled us and it is the part of prudence not to place absolute confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived ' He cautioned us not to trust everything that our senses tell us since they are deceiving . He even argued that there is a thin line that separates the walking state from the dreaming state - meaning , we cannot be actually certain whether as of the moment we are imagining or not (Bryan Kidd ) Descartes argued that on many occasions , he had actually thought that he was awake when in reality he was merely dreaming . It is possible , according to him...