Descartes Beliefs On The Soul Theory Of Personal Identity

Descartes was a famous historical philosopher who spoke out about his beliefs on the soul theory of personal identity. Descartes theory can be introduced by his quote “I am, I exist” (Meditations on first philosophy, page 4). The soul theory believes that each individual can know for certain that they exist purely by knowing their own thoughts. A person can know that they have thoughts, without knowing that they have a body. For example, Descartes talks about how when he wakes up from being asleep, before he even opens his eyes he can think and visualise in his head without any connection to his body (Meditations on first philosophy, page 2-3), which brings him to his next point that the mind is not physical, and the mind is not in the brain. An individual is therefore a …show more content…
It has everything necessary to be called a body. However, as the wax is placed near a fire, the taste is removed, the smell goes away, the shape diminishes, the size grows, even the colour changes, and finally, the texture becomes a hot liquid. But, the same wax still remains despite these sensory changes. One good reason for the soul theory is the conceptual possibility of reincarnation. Because the soul theory believes that an individual merely “occupies” their body, and their soul can exist outside of their body, the concept of reincarnation makes a great deal of sense with the soul theory. When a person dies, their body dies. However, the individual that has been in their body, the soul, lives on as it is not considered an actual part of the body. Therefore, the concept of reincarnation is a possible one, as an individual could come back into the world in another body, whether that be a human body, the body of an animal, or insect, but still with the same soul that is really themselves. To the soul theory this is all that truly makes a person’s identity, their