Critically examine Cartesian dualism as an answer to the mind/body problem. When you answer this question be sure to include a discussion of Gilbert Ryle's criticisms of Cartesian dualism.

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                                                                                                                   Rosalyn Kennedy, 100H

Critically examine Cartesian dualism as an answer to the mind/body problem. When you answer this question be sure to include a discussion of Gilbert Ryle’s criticisms of Cartesian dualism.

The mind-body problem is a problem which can only be answered, and even then somewhat sketchily, by looking at the most basic components, namely the mind and the body. We know that the body is made up of matter, it takes up space, and it deals with our physical processes. The mind is much more complex, and is more easily described in negatives. It is non-spatial and non-extended, therefore having no location and taking up no space. It is not subjected to the physical laws which govern the body. It is immaterial, and to make matters worse, invisible. It is however, to do with thought and consciousness. It allows us to have emotions, sensations, experiences and imaginings - all of which have a special elusive quality, and are utterly private to the individual mind. The body is thus the shell we present to the outer world and a means of communicating to people around us. This makes it very much public. We assume that mind and body must interact. Much of what we do with our bodies, how we move, where we move to, is a result of thought and therefore resulting from mental processing. In the same way, our bodies can receive information from the outside world through senses, and this can then affect the mind. For example, when we view a mountainous landscape through our eyes this is relayed to our brain which deciphers the image. We may then think that the landscape is beautiful and this could change our emotional state – which I have already ascertained to be controlled by the mind.

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        Descartes argument for Cartesian dualism is then specifically that the mind and body are distinct, but still have the capacity to interact. He accepts that they are different, describing this in his divisibility argument. The body, as a material object, can be divided into separate parts which can all then be recognised as individual parts of the body. We can see and feel the body, and so can give each of its parts a separate space. The mind however must be different as it cannot actually be divided in this way. We can tell they are different by what we ...

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