Dualism

In this paper I will be explaining and evaluating Argument 2, on page 36 of Jaegwon Kim's Philosophy of Mind, which supports Cartesian substance dualism. This argument, which I call the argument of transparency, attempts to support the first major tenant of Cartesian substance dualism: There are substances of two fundamentally different kinds in the world, mental substances and material substances—or minds and bodies. The essential nature of a mind is to think, be conscious, and engage in other…

soul and body has captivated philosophers for ages. Most religious people believe and support the idea of dualism because frankly the other options are a little sad and disappointing. If mind and body are the one and the same, then the idea of soul and religion is redundant and if that is the case, then nothing of you exists when your body doesn’t. Foder not only dismisses the theory of dualism, he also supports a radical functionalist theory of mind. According to him humans should not be the…

Rene Descartes proposes a variant of substance dualism that maintains the equal and distinct existence of physical and mental substances. Descartes (1641) discusses that bodies are physical substances because they extend outward and occupy spatial regions while the human mind is a mental substance because it cannot extend through space (P.165). Descartes also notes fundamental differences on their activities; the human body is passive because it cannot think while the mind can handle complex…

These reasons include the rationale behind the reasoning of brain research, how the different aspects of reductive physicalism is able to address the non-physical aspects of the mind, as well as the less than sensible claims that the opposing view, dualism, presents in comparison. One of the main reasons why physicalism is able to prove itself to be the better answer to the mind-body problem is based off of research that society has learned about on the brain. To lessen the aspect of the mind…

While Cartesian dualism says that there are two different mental and physical entities that make up the mind, functionalism argues that the brain is an independent entity. Functionalism says that the brain – a singular entity – contains two kinds of properties, mental and physical. Thus, it is a form of dualism in the sense that there are two different things in play, yet only one physical entity which these properties reside in. It solves the causal relation problem that Cartesian dualism has…

In this paper I will explain and argue for substance dualism. Substance Dualism states that “Minds & Bodies are two different sorts of basic Substances.” Substances are things that are capable of independent existence, and that support properties or qualities. Properties are ways that substances can be, and thus can exist only by being present in a substance and cannot exist independently (Van Gulick). One substance can have different properties. “For example subatomic particles such as…

Dualism is a view where the mind and body are two fundamentally different things. It’s the thought that the body is a pure physical state, and the mind is a pure mental/non-physical state. The body has an identified location, is led by the laws of nature, and it is open to the world to see. Whereas the mind has no location, isn’t led by the laws of nature, and is not public. Materialism is the view that individuals are nothing more than physical elements put together. For we all are made up of…

I argue that substance dualism is true. Substance dualism claims that people and bodies are distinct. People, such as you and I, are nonphysical beings. We are connected human bodies, but we are not bodies. The reason is that (1) If we can exist without bodies, then we cannot be bodies. (2) We can exist without bodies. Therefore (3) we cannot be bodies. (1), (2) and (3) constitute the modal argument for substance dualism. The modal argument has a valid form. An argument has valid form means that…

Mind-body Dualism. Interactionism is the theory that there are two realities, mind and body, each of which can have an effect on the other. In contrast, dualists claim that the mind and body are two separate realities. The body is a material thing that operates in a physical reality, while the mind and mental states operate in a nonphysical reality. For the dualist, the way of thinking is an internal thinking on the inside that is private. I fully agree with Descartes’s concept of dualism. The…

Dualism, which is described on page 94, “holds that what exists is either physical or mental (“spiritual”); some things, such as a human person, have both a physical component (a physical body) and a mental component (a mind).” Descartes was an incredibly important figure in history and is said to have begun the age of modern philosophy (page 96). He created the famous phrase of “I think, therefore I am” when he was looking for “a measure of certainty that escapes even the most incredible and…