Jordan Mashal
Professor Landers
PHI 344
24 Septemeber 2017
Dualism
Prompt 1:
The central claim of substance dualism relies on the non identity of the mind and the body. Gotfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a German philosopher, articulated a law that defines the notion of identity as: for any x and y, if x is identical to y, then x and y have all the same properties. Further, any two things that have all and only the same properties as one another are identical to each other. Finally, if there is some property that one of two things has that the other does not have, the two cannot be identical. Substance dualism uses Leibniz’ law in an attempt to prove the fact that the mind and body do not have the same properties, and therefore are not identical.
At the core of substance dualism is the non identity of the mind and body. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, questioned how the immaterial mind could influence the material body. This became known as the mind-body problem in philosophy. Descartes felt that the mind was radically different than physical bodies. He held that minds were essentially thinking things that do not take up physical space. On the other hand, he argued that physical bodies were essentially unthinking things because they take up space. Substance dualism holds that the mind is formed of a …show more content…
Gotfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a German philosopher, articulated a law that defines the notion of identity as: for any x and y, if x is identical to y, then x and y have all the same properties. Further, any two things that have all and only the same properties as one another are identical to each other. Finally, if there is some property that one of two things has that the other does not have, the two cannot be identical. Substance dualism uses Leibniz’ law in an attempt to prove the fact that the mind and body do not have the same properties, and therefore are not
Professor Landers
PHI 344
24 Septemeber 2017
Dualism
Prompt 1:
The central claim of substance dualism relies on the non identity of the mind and the body. Gotfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a German philosopher, articulated a law that defines the notion of identity as: for any x and y, if x is identical to y, then x and y have all the same properties. Further, any two things that have all and only the same properties as one another are identical to each other. Finally, if there is some property that one of two things has that the other does not have, the two cannot be identical. Substance dualism uses Leibniz’ law in an attempt to prove the fact that the mind and body do not have the same properties, and therefore are not identical.
At the core of substance dualism is the non identity of the mind and body. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, questioned how the immaterial mind could influence the material body. This became known as the mind-body problem in philosophy. Descartes felt that the mind was radically different than physical bodies. He held that minds were essentially thinking things that do not take up physical space. On the other hand, he argued that physical bodies were essentially unthinking things because they take up space. Substance dualism holds that the mind is formed of a …show more content…
Gotfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a German philosopher, articulated a law that defines the notion of identity as: for any x and y, if x is identical to y, then x and y have all the same properties. Further, any two things that have all and only the same properties as one another are identical to each other. Finally, if there is some property that one of two things has that the other does not have, the two cannot be identical. Substance dualism uses Leibniz’ law in an attempt to prove the fact that the mind and body do not have the same properties, and therefore are not