The Mind Body Problem, By Rene Descartes Essay - 1331 Words

Mind-Body Problem Oluwadamilola Kamson Philosophy 101: Introduction to Philosophy November 2016 INTRODUCTION The Mind-body problem dates back to Plato and was well received by the scholastic philosophers. However, it was Rene Descartes the famous French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. The mind-body problem is not, of course, a single problem at all, but a large collection of problems which focuses upon the fundamental issue of reality and knowledge in so far as such analysis may clarify the relationship between the mind and body, and the intelligibility of any alleged relationship between them. Cartesian dualism holds the presupposition that man is made of two elements, a body and a soul (mind). This presumption is informed by the notion that man by his ability to think, choose, reason, imagine, etc. cannot just be physical, there must be something in him more than his physical nature which performs those activities A traditional platonic belief that has been adopted by many Christians is that a person is a mind or soul that survives the death of the body.1 But what is the mind and how is it related to the body? What mind and body are, is a question that already took it distinctively modern form in the original inquiries of Rene Descartes, who pursuing the implications he found in the geometric vision of the new sciences of renaissance, constructed human begins in term of thought and extension- the two being taken to such radically differentShow MoreRelatedThe Mind Body Problem : Rene Descartes Essay972 Words   |  4 PagesThe mind-body problem, which still is debating on what it can be, still goes on today about the difference or similarities between the mind and the body. Rene Descartes had a belief that the mind and body are two different substances that can exist separately on their own, and that one can live without the other. But there is no right or wrong answer for either. Physicalism and dualism, I believe both of these give a good case about the mind-body but there really isn’t a real good answer, but betweenRead MoreDescartes : The Father Of Modern Philosophy1055 Words   |  5 Pagesthe fact that I am something.† (Descartes, â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy,† 182) Rene Descartes is widely considered the father of modern philosophy. He created many new ideas about the self, which is something that has been contested since the dawn of philosophy. Even now, the world is nowhere near a unified thought on the soul. Descartes is most famous for addressing this, and is often summarized by the famous â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am)†Descartes offers a great deal of importantRead Moresituation in ethic Essay1383 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind and language.The influences of philosophy and physiology are discover by ancient Greeks such as Aristotle and Plato. In the seventeenth century, Rene Descartes suggested the concept of dualism in which the mind and body exist as two separate entities. Descartes believed that the interaction between mind and body created the experience of reality. Physiology and Read MoreEssay Rene Descartess View on God1300 Words   |  6 PagesRene Descartess View on God      Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1996, songwriter Joan Osborne performed a song called One of Us that was nominated for three Grammy Awards.   What made this song so successful and interesting were the powerful lyrics that basically asked, What if God were a human being?   As she was writing the lyrics to One of Us, she was wondering about God and how the world would be different if God did exist in real life and not just a supernatural force.   You may be asking yourself, What doesRead MoreThe Life of Rene’ Descartes: His Works and His Beliefs in God1578 Words   |  7 PagesWas Rene’ Descartes just a visionary of truth, mathematical equations or was he truly a man that knew he was born to tell the world about life, knowledge, and how it all came together metaphorically? Please see the research on Rene’ Descartes cited accomplishments. Descartes was known as the first modern philosopher. Famous for making a connection between geometry and algebra, which allowed for solving of geometrical problem by way of algebraic equations, which promoted a new conception of matterRead MoreWho is Rene Descartes?721 Words   |  3 Pagesof the early modern fathers of philosophy, Rene Descartes, stressed the importance of attaining knowledge through reason (rational thought). Descartes’ times were those of an Enlightenment movement that flourished through Europe in the seventeenth century. Revolutions in France and the United States, which transformed through this movement, altered the way sciences and mathematics were approached. This affected how even philosophy was scrutinized. Rene was an individual of his times. He argued thatRead MoreThe Theory Of The Mind Body Dualism1232 Words   |  5 PagesRenà © Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher of the 16th Century, who, according to the Encyclo pedia Britannica, â€Å"was one of the first to abandon scholastic Aristotelianism and created the first version of the modern mind-body dualism or emotion† (Encyclopedia Britannica). Born on March 31, 1596, he was dubbed as the Father of Modern Philosophy. His theory on the mind-body dualism, also known as Cartesian Dualism, created a stem of the modern problem of the relationship betweenRead MorePhilosophy Of Rene Descartes860 Words   |  4 PagesRene Descartes is an extremely influential philosopher from the 17th century and is widely considered the father of modern philosophy. One of Descartes’s most famous philosophies is his cogito ergo sum statement: I think, therefore, I am (Descartes, 2008). He believed that because he is a thing that thinks, then he must have some kind of consciousness or awareness of the world. Because he has consciousness, he reasons that he must exist, especially since he is aware that he is a thing that thinksRead MoreRenà © Descartes and Thomas Hobbes Essay1497 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the sixteen hundreds, the French philosopher Renà © Descartes laid the foundations for the beginnings of Cartesian Dualism. In contrast, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued against dualism in favor of materialism. Recently, Cartesian Dualism, and dualism in general has fallen out of favor as materialism arose as a more plausible and explanatory theory regarding the interrelationships between body and mind. The translation Descartes’ writing in the Meditations is far more cryptic thanRead MoreThe Mind-Body Problem Essay957 Words   |  4 PagesThe Mind-Body Problem The mind-body problem, which is still debated even today, raises the question about the relationship between the mind and the body. Theorists, such as Renà © Descartes and Thomas Nagel, have written extensively on the problem but they have many dissenting beliefs. Descartes, a dualist, contends that the mind and body are two different substances that can exist separately. Conversely, Nagel, a dual aspect theorist, contends that the mind and body are not substances but different