The Mind-Body Problem free essay sample

He believed in an independent soul inhabiting in a mechanically operated body. The reality of the body needed no proof, but the reality of the soul did. Since he doubted everything, he said that we could not doubt the existence of our self, because there must be a self that exists to do the doubting. Descartes was concerned about how the nonmaterial soul could interact with the matter of our body. He resolved the problem of the incompatibility of the two entities by naming this problem dualism. Dualism is an ancient concept and is deeply rooted in Greek thought. They said that a persons soul was of an entirely different essence than the body. They also said that those dual entities had no interaction with one another. They saw them as foreign to one another; the body was the prison house of the soul. In the problem of dualism, Descartes discussed that the body could be divided up, such as removing a hand or a leg, but the soul was indivisible. The soul occupied the whole body, and the removal of any part of the physical body did not reduce any part of the soul. He claims the body was procreated, and the soul was created. Even though the two realities of the soul were of a completely different character, they could react with each other. He finds that reaction as a mystery. The interdependence of the mind and body was what Descartes considered a human being. The mind and body formed a unit. Descartes said that the body, including the brain, was simply mechanical in its principal of operation. That is only true if the body is considered without a soul. The mechanistic view of the brain was not questionable if the soul doesnt make any essential part of its operation. Descartes talked about the nature of the soul, since it has no matter or substance. He said that the perceptions of sense and physical passions of people are dependent upon the body, but the awareness lies within the soul. The soul become aware, such as conscious and self consciousness, and how it succeeds in acting upon the body. Its awareness is due to the action of the body upon it. Descartes said that the body is just extended matter, and the soul is unextended spirit. When the extended is acted upon by the unextended, a definite point of interaction is required, and is found in a place in the brain called the pineal gland. The point of interaction was at the site of the pineal gland, and it was the only place he thought that is not duplicate as all other brain structures were thought to be. He said the soul wasnt to be viewed as locked in and shut up in the pineal gland. He said it was just the point of interaction, but not the box of the soul in any sense. The soul is united to all parts of the body conjointly. The whole body is the souls housing as long as the body remains intact. When a part of the body is cut off, such as a leg or finger, there is no loss of part of the soul as a consequence because the soul is indivisible. It just occupies what is left of the body. Descartes clearly stated there is a dualism of the mind and body, and their interaction is very real. Our brain is the major place for the consciousness of the soul, yet consciousness is distributed throughout the whole body. Descartes made the mind and brain separate entities, dependent upon each other. I thought of an analogy to go with that; a fountain pen and ink. They are interdependent, and the pen will not write without the ink, and the ink carries no message without the pen. I strongly believe in the idea of dualism that Descartes proposed. The mental and physical have quite different properties. Mental events have a subjective quality to them, where physical events seem not to. An example would be when one asks what a burned finger feels like, or what nice music sounds. Sensations like these cannot be reduced to something physical. There is no place in the brain where electric stimulation can cause a person to believe or decide. Although our thoughts can be true or false, our brains status cannot be true or false. Nobody can tell what we are thinking by measuring brain waves. What really grounded my position on arguing for Descartes position was the doubting argument; I can doubt that my body exists, but I cannot doubt that I exist as a thinking thing because I am existing to think. I also think that Descartes argument is true because of his idea about the soul being an indivisible, nonphysical entity. Just because someone loses their legs in a car accident, it doesnt mean their soul goes away with their lost legs. People who criticize and oppose Descartes ideas claim that if the soul and body were substances of entirely different natures, interaction between them would be impossible. Duality means that there are there are two types of substances in the world, physical and non physical. There needs to be another substance to rationalize having a brain and having a god, and free will. If the brain is performing physical duties to make us think, then wheres my soul? How am I involved in making decisions and thinking? There must be something apart from this brain and physical world. Another argument is also based upon what happens if the brain is damaged. When damage occurs from physical trauma or pathological diseases, our mental powers are always compromised. The argument holds that if the brain and mind were actually separate, our mental powers would not be compromised. It is a very strong opposing argument, however, it also depends upon the presumption that God does not have a reason for letting our brain limit our mental function while we are living. The arguments for the existence of dualism are strong, but they are dependent upon an anti-supernatural presumption. Descartes mind-body problem is definitely an open ended topic with strong arguments from the supporting or opposing side. Its a very interesting and intriguing topic. It all started with his quote about the ability to exist within his thoughts, I think, therefore I am. I believe that the body and mind/soul are two completely different parts that make a unit of the human being. They intertwine and interact in a very mysterious way. The idea of dualism was further continued and researched by many other famous philosophers such as Thomas Nagel. This is something that will rest in my thoughts more, as I continue to ponder about the nature of my soul, the interaction it has with my body, and my existence.