Descartes Mind and Body

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Descartes has a very distinct thought when thinking about the mind, and how it relates to the body, or more specifically then brain. He seems to want to explain that the mind in itself is independent from the body. A body is merely a physical entity that could be proven to be true scientifically and also can be proven through the senses. Such things are not possible with the meta-physical mind because it is independent of the body. Building on his previous premises, Descartes finally proves whether material things exist or not and determines whether his mind and body are separate from each other or not. In Meditation Six, Descartes lays the foundation for dualism which has become one of the most important arguments in philosophy. …show more content…

If you take the premises of the existence of God and his Truth Rule to be true, then you must accept that his mind is separate from his body. “Nature teaches that I am present in my body not merely in the way a sailor is present in a ship.”(Kemerling, par. 14) This shows that a sailor would have to be on his ship physically, but he is thinking that he is within his body, but these two things are not both physical entities. Descartes wants to say that his mind and body are two completely separate entities. In fact his mind is not necessarily located in any one space. It is a non-measurable, non-physical entity, much like how we view our soul. The mind is independent of the body, but it is related in many ways such that the feeling that are felt and things that are done are both felt in the mind and the body. One problem Descartes encounters in determining the essence of mind and body dualism is the scientific experiments that have shown that the mind and body is actually one thing. The mind is not just merely an untouchable, unexplainable force that shows us who we are, but rather a function of our brain activity. It is interesting that Descartes says that our personality in itself is separate and much more then just a physical entity in ones body, and I agree with him in that respect. It does not follow that our mind and body are separate entities. Our

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