Cartesian Dualism Argument Analysis

A material thing,which is defined as something that has matter, cannot be moved by an immaterial thing, which is defined as something that does not have matter.
The reasoning behind this is the laws of physics which do not allow something without matter to move something with matter.
The body, which is a material substance, is moved by the mind, which is an immaterial substance.
The reasoning behind this is the argument proposed by Descartes, known as Cartesian dualism, which claims that the mind and body interact.
Premises 1 and 2 defy the the law of noncontradiction, which states that the conclusion must either be or not be something (p or not p).
Therefore, due to premises two and three and the law of noncontradiction, the mind must be a material thing and cannot be an …show more content…
*suppressed premise: body has to be material
The argument proposed by Elisabeth is valid because of the definition of validity. Since the definition of validity is the premises leading to the conclusion and Elisabeth’s premises do lead to her conclusion, the argument passes the test of validity. Now that the argument has been established as valid, Elisabeth 's argument can be examined in more detail. Elisabeth’s argument is an objection to the argument proposed by Descartes, which states that the mind and the body are separate things and that the body is controlled by the immaterial mind. In her argument, Elisabeth addresses the idea of extension, or the idea of an object being able to move and have matter. Elisabeth argues the notion of being, which a body has, is the idea of everything being something that we can conceive.