This belief in philosophy that the mind, soul, or conscious is independent from the body is referred to as Cartesian dualism; in other words, if the body dies the mind does not. Trying to distinct the mind from the body has been a topic in philosophy since Rene Descartes, one of the most influential founders. In one of Descartes first essays, the ‘Second Meditation: Of the Human Mind’, he wrote about how he believed that the mind and the body were two separate entities and self is distinct from the body. On the other hand, there are plenty of respected philosophers that believe Descartes’s look on our mind and body is wrong; these people call themselves Anti-Cartesians. Sir Peter Strawson, a very well-known Anti-Cartesian stated, the mind is
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Throughout the 1900’s he published many books and released “Self, Mind and Body”, one of his most sought after pieces of work. Throughout “Self, Mind and Body” Strawson provided very convincing arguments toward Descartes point of views. If you do not have a body for the mind to rely on there will be no such thing as a conscious. Strawson stated, “To talk about the mind of a man is just a way of talking about a man, … Just so we talk of surfaces of tables as well as of tables, of the score in a football match as well as of a football match. But we recognize that the concept of a surface is dependent on the concept of a material object, that the concept of a score is dependent on the concept of a game”. What Strawson is saying is that the mind will not be able to have a conscious without the senses of a living human being as he explains when he stated, “the anti-Cartesian holds, the concept of a mind or consciousness is dependent on the concept of a living person” (30). Without our sense perceptions, you are left with nothing for your mind to think about. In Descartes, ‘Second Meditation: Of the Nature of the Human Mind …’ he believes with the loss of ‘nutrition’, ‘movement’, and ‘sense perception ‘will be the only things he will lose without a body and still can have thought and a conscious mind. How could you still have thought when all of what you think about
Throughout the 1900’s he published many books and released “Self, Mind and Body”, one of his most sought after pieces of work. Throughout “Self, Mind and Body” Strawson provided very convincing arguments toward Descartes point of views. If you do not have a body for the mind to rely on there will be no such thing as a conscious. Strawson stated, “To talk about the mind of a man is just a way of talking about a man, … Just so we talk of surfaces of tables as well as of tables, of the score in a football match as well as of a football match. But we recognize that the concept of a surface is dependent on the concept of a material object, that the concept of a score is dependent on the concept of a game”. What Strawson is saying is that the mind will not be able to have a conscious without the senses of a living human being as he explains when he stated, “the anti-Cartesian holds, the concept of a mind or consciousness is dependent on the concept of a living person” (30). Without our sense perceptions, you are left with nothing for your mind to think about. In Descartes, ‘Second Meditation: Of the Nature of the Human Mind …’ he believes with the loss of ‘nutrition’, ‘movement’, and ‘sense perception ‘will be the only things he will lose without a body and still can have thought and a conscious mind. How could you still have thought when all of what you think about