Introduction
Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz lived between 1646 and 1716. He was a German philosopher, mathematician and logician. In his contribution to philosophy, he is known for his wide range of thought about fundamental philosophical ideas and principles which includes truth, necessary and contingent truths, possible worlds, the principle of pre-established harmony and the principle of non-contradiction. His principle of pre-established harmony argues that God created the universe in such a way that corresponding mental and physical events occur simultaneously. This paper aims at establishing how Leibniz Law supports Dualists claim that mental state is distinct from the physical state.
Leibniz law states that if A and B are one and the same …show more content…
Is it within the brain? Or is it within a nonphysical medium? What then would such a nonphysical medium be like? Would it be what is referred to as Soul? Is each person an immaterial soul or spirit operating a physical body?
Substance Dualists
Substance Dualists argue that the mind and the body are composed of different substances and that the mind is a thinking thing that lacks the usual attributes of physical objects such as size, shape, location, solidity, motion and adherence to the laws of physics. These Dualists are divided into various categories depending on how they think mind and the body are related. These categories are as follows;
Interactionists: These type of Dualists believe that the mind and the body casually affect one another.
Occasionalists: They argue that mind and the body do not interact though they may seem to. To illustrate this, they give an example of when on hit his/her thumb with a hammer and a painful and distressing sensation occurs one may see as though the mind and the body interact but they don’t. They defend their argument by saying that the sensation is not caused by the hammer and nerves, but instead by God. They claim that God uses the occasion of environmental happening to create appropriate …show more content…
As seen in this essay, they argue that the mind and the brain are two distinct entities. Since the mind is not located in physical space according to Dualists, then one is left wondering how then it can cause or affected something that is located in physical space. Again applying Leibniz Law, this would seem to mean that if A causes B, then A must be located somewhere in space and B must be located somewhere in space. For A to affect B, they must be physically next to each other in some way. Therefore, there is no way the mind can be said to be distinct from the body yet they both affect each other. Consider the following
Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz lived between 1646 and 1716. He was a German philosopher, mathematician and logician. In his contribution to philosophy, he is known for his wide range of thought about fundamental philosophical ideas and principles which includes truth, necessary and contingent truths, possible worlds, the principle of pre-established harmony and the principle of non-contradiction. His principle of pre-established harmony argues that God created the universe in such a way that corresponding mental and physical events occur simultaneously. This paper aims at establishing how Leibniz Law supports Dualists claim that mental state is distinct from the physical state.
Leibniz law states that if A and B are one and the same …show more content…
Is it within the brain? Or is it within a nonphysical medium? What then would such a nonphysical medium be like? Would it be what is referred to as Soul? Is each person an immaterial soul or spirit operating a physical body?
Substance Dualists
Substance Dualists argue that the mind and the body are composed of different substances and that the mind is a thinking thing that lacks the usual attributes of physical objects such as size, shape, location, solidity, motion and adherence to the laws of physics. These Dualists are divided into various categories depending on how they think mind and the body are related. These categories are as follows;
Interactionists: These type of Dualists believe that the mind and the body casually affect one another.
Occasionalists: They argue that mind and the body do not interact though they may seem to. To illustrate this, they give an example of when on hit his/her thumb with a hammer and a painful and distressing sensation occurs one may see as though the mind and the body interact but they don’t. They defend their argument by saying that the sensation is not caused by the hammer and nerves, but instead by God. They claim that God uses the occasion of environmental happening to create appropriate …show more content…
As seen in this essay, they argue that the mind and the brain are two distinct entities. Since the mind is not located in physical space according to Dualists, then one is left wondering how then it can cause or affected something that is located in physical space. Again applying Leibniz Law, this would seem to mean that if A causes B, then A must be located somewhere in space and B must be located somewhere in space. For A to affect B, they must be physically next to each other in some way. Therefore, there is no way the mind can be said to be distinct from the body yet they both affect each other. Consider the following