Mind Body Dualism
When separated from their body, a person is given a difficult choice on who they will torture. In this scenario, two people consciously switch their bodies. Then, they are given a choice: they can transfer their mind into this new body and have their old body receive torture, or they can be transferred into the new body and then consciously receive the torture (344). The choice that a person makes showcases whether they will choose to preserve their old body, relying on the body as a sense of self, or protect their mental state, relying on the mind as a sense of self (345). In this experiment, the person who will make the choice to allow the body that they left behind to be tortured identifies their mind as their identity. …show more content…
These two states of existence are two different realms: one that is physical and one that is mental. Since the mind and body adhere to separate laws, they must maintain two different forms of existence (273). This relates to Descartes’ concept of Mind-Body Dualism. Since the mind and body are restricted to different laws, they should not be compared to each other. However, Ryle believes that the dualist stance is guilty to a category mistake (274). A category mistake takes place when certain attributes of a certain domain are presented as if to belong to another despite the fact that they are one entity (274). An example of a category mistake could be described in the ocean representation. In this scenario, imagine a scientist researching the ocean. As he visits different parts of the ocean, he asks where the actual ocean is. The scientist is committing a category mistake because he does not understand that he is visiting the ocean. The different reefs and locations he went to were all part of the ocean, yet he failed to attribute that exact point. This relates to the bigger picture of mind versus body. If Ryle’s argument is correct, then it is difficult to provide a clear distinction between mind and body (278). If there is no separation provided between the two concepts, it is difficult to determine which determines the identity of a
When separated from their body, a person is given a difficult choice on who they will torture. In this scenario, two people consciously switch their bodies. Then, they are given a choice: they can transfer their mind into this new body and have their old body receive torture, or they can be transferred into the new body and then consciously receive the torture (344). The choice that a person makes showcases whether they will choose to preserve their old body, relying on the body as a sense of self, or protect their mental state, relying on the mind as a sense of self (345). In this experiment, the person who will make the choice to allow the body that they left behind to be tortured identifies their mind as their identity. …show more content…
These two states of existence are two different realms: one that is physical and one that is mental. Since the mind and body adhere to separate laws, they must maintain two different forms of existence (273). This relates to Descartes’ concept of Mind-Body Dualism. Since the mind and body are restricted to different laws, they should not be compared to each other. However, Ryle believes that the dualist stance is guilty to a category mistake (274). A category mistake takes place when certain attributes of a certain domain are presented as if to belong to another despite the fact that they are one entity (274). An example of a category mistake could be described in the ocean representation. In this scenario, imagine a scientist researching the ocean. As he visits different parts of the ocean, he asks where the actual ocean is. The scientist is committing a category mistake because he does not understand that he is visiting the ocean. The different reefs and locations he went to were all part of the ocean, yet he failed to attribute that exact point. This relates to the bigger picture of mind versus body. If Ryle’s argument is correct, then it is difficult to provide a clear distinction between mind and body (278). If there is no separation provided between the two concepts, it is difficult to determine which determines the identity of a