...Explain concisely the philosophical problems of the relation between the mind and body. The mind and our understanding of what it is has been the centre of philosophical debate since the 6th Century BC where the ancient Greeks sort for ways of explaining human action. No longer did the Homeric understanding that human action was simply the result of his environment sufficient, an inward search to explain actions took place and as such, the concept of psyche was developed. The concept of psyche evolved through terms such as soul and then mind through philosophical debate and mistranslation since this period, and it is the aim of this paper to show how the mind has been conceptualised and the irrationality of associating in like form to that of the body. In order to understand the problems with relating the mind and body – the concept of Cartesian dualism, as theorised by Descartes needs to be examined. Descartes believed in an independent nonmaterial soul inhabiting and finding expression in a mechanically operated body. Descartes used his own words cogito ergo sum, “I am thinking therefore I exist” as somewhat of an unanswerable means of proof. In an attempt to understand everything and break it down to its most simplest form, Descartes the skeptic attempted to doubt everything in order to understand himself. He argues that he can doubt everything around himself, he can even doubt that his own body exists, however he can no doubt that he is doubting, - he could not doubt...
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...There is a wide variety of categories into which all things in the world can be divided. There are natural and unnatural phenomena; things created by mankind and those we consider to be product of the Supreme Mind; there is flora and there is fauna; there are things that we can modify and things that humans have no control over. One of the many ways to differentiate and classify everything and anything in the surrounding environment and, probably, one of the most universal ways, is to classify things as being either material or immaterial. It seems fairly easy to distinguish between the two. If we cannot touch, feel or see something, then it becomes the notion of the immaterial world. The rest belongs to the material things, which we can own, trade, purchase, possess, lose or give away. When Rene Descartes, one of the founders of the modern-day western philosophical science, laid the groundwork for his epistemological perspective called Cartesian Dualism, he was coming exactly from the same universal idea. The thoughts and hypotheses that Descartes tried so hard, throughout his lifetime’s work, to develop into axioms and prove to be fundamentally true, surprisingly remain highly debatable and are still largely in question. Philosophy is very much about the question of certainty. To a great extent, from the epistemological perspective, knowledge is certainty (Harris, 2009). Just as the case is with Plato, whose quest for certainty has driven his metaphysics to take it, as a...
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...Mbogo .W.A. (Moi) The course number: The date of submission: The instructor’s name: WHAT IS MIND? The mind is a complex element in a living organism that assists to understand the world around them, be able to interpret experiences and internalize ideas pertaining reality in general. Dualism and physicalism are two philosophical entities that attempt to explain reality with regards to the mind and body relationship. Physicalism dimension is normally taken to be synonymous with materialism. The two entities perceive the relationship between the mind and body from different perspectives which brings about their differences. Dualism for instance, which is derived from the concept “duo” , meaning two, holds the view of the mind/body relationship from a duality perspective. It sees the two entities as being different from each other. Dualists believe that the mind and the body cannot be reduced to be the same thing because doing so will ultimately lead to the deviation of the true meaning of reality. Their focus is aimed at critical analysis of the perspectives that normally bring the differences between the mind and the body. The body is a physical reality. The brain which is part of the body is not equivalent to the mind. Physical manipulation of the brain can be achieved to attain its well-being. For example, surgery can be done to the brain if it is malfunctioning to enhance its efficiency. On the contrary, complex processes which are not physical in nature...
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...Problem with Philosophy Bertrand Russell concludes his analysis stating that the importance of studying philosophy relies on the question of value, as he states most people within the scientific community have a pre-conceived idea of what philosophy is, and may attach a whimsical value to it. Russell explains that Philosophy is like other sciences in that what is produces is not always tangible or the methods by which it is created is always easily understood, so in order to appreciate philosophy it is a good option to study students learning the value of philosophy first hand Russell continues, that “practical men” (Russell, 2009) need to change their mindset; that “the goods of the mind are at least as important as the goods of the body”. (Russell, 2009), once a person appreciates that the mind needs nourishment as well as the body, they will be able to appreciate philosophy.“A critical examination of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices, and beliefs” (Russell, 2009) is the form of knowledge that Russell believes philosophy is based on. He further states that philosophy cannot be measured in the same way as other sciences, because once a definite answer is found, it isn’t philosophy anymore. Examples Russell uses are the study of Astronomy, and the study of the human mind, once under the philosophy umbrella of study, later to be under the umbrella of other sciences. Philosophy asks questions that don’t need an immediate answer; the importance of philosophy is to question...
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...Thet Paing Soe Professor James Rowe Philosophy 1500 14 May 2015 Prompt 1 The True Nature of Reality When it comes to describing the nature of our reality, philosophers have been in search of a system that truly and completely explains everything. It is noteworthy that numerous system have developed over the past few centuries. However, in this paper only four notable theories (dualism, materialism, idealism and transcendental idealism) will be explored. Each theories provide adequate explanation of reality but there are limitations and shortcomings when one contemplate carefully. The theories will be explored and critique by using the mind body problem, The Chinese room, the radical emergence theory. Moreover, one should consider which theory describes the nature of reality with least logical incoherencies. Substance Dualism is a theory that describes “mind and matter” as “two distinct things” (Nagel Thomas 206). Furthermore, substance dualism categorize matter as “physical or material substance” and mind or soul as “non-physical or immaterial substance” (Lacewing Michael) “Substance Dualism”). So, dualism is the proposal that human being as a living, thinking entity not only includes brain and physical matter but also a non-physical substance to account for the mind. The famous seventeenth century French philosopher René Descartes claimed that as “a subject of conscious thought and experience, he cannot consist of spatially extended matter”. He therefore states that...
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...oldest theory of philosophy. Its origin goes back to ancient India in the East and to Plato in the West. Generally, Idealists believe that ideas are the true reality. According to them, the human spirit is the most important element in life. Matter is not real. It attaches great significance to the study of man and his mind. It maintains that the material and physical universe is subordinate to a higher type of reality, a spiritual universe. CHIEF EXPONENTS OF IDEALISM (I) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) The Videc Rishis of India Plato – (427-347 B.C) Kant (1724- 1804 A.D) Hegal (1770-1831 A.D) Froebel (1772 – 1852 A.D) Swami Dyananda (1825 – 1883 A.D) R.N. Tagore (1861-1941 A.D) Aurobindo Ghosh (1872 – 1950 A.D) 02. MEANING OF IDEALISM The word „Idealism‟ signifies two terms: „Idea‟ and „ideal‟. In other words Idealism is born out of Plato‟s “Theory of Ideas”. According to this doctrine, the ultimate supremacy is of ideas. In this way, the real word is „ideaism‟, but adding the letter „I‟ for pronunciation facility it is known as idealism. 03. DEFINITION OF IDEALISM (i) (ii) Views of D.M. Dutta: “Idealism holds that ultimate reality is spiritual”. Views of J.S. Ross: “Mind or spirit is the essential world stuff that the true reality is of a mental character”. (iii) Harold B. Titus: “Idealism asserts that reality consists of ideas, thoughts, minds, or selves rather than material objects and force”. (iv) R.N. Tagore: “Idealism is that school of philosophy which Iays great...
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...A History of Modern Psychology Psychology 310-History and Systems of Psychology October 7, 2013 Abstract Philosophy has been said to be the mother of all disciplines. Philosophy is the oldest disciplines studied and has influenced modern science. Natural and social science have their roots in philosophy. Modern sciences are influenced by philosophy and are similar to philosophical questions. Understanding the way problems are addressed by philosophers is essential to understanding the science of psychology. Philosophers paved the way for modern psychology. Aristotle was a very famous philosopher and was called the father of psychology. Aristotle created idealism which believes that the mind and reasoning cannot exist without the body. Plato was also a philosopher. He taught theories based on the behaviors of humans like impulses and reasoning. Rene Descartes, another philosopher determined that psychology is an actual discipline. There are several philosophers that have influenced 19th Century philosophy. Edward Hitzig and John Locke are respected 19th Century philosophers, just to name a few. These philosophers have had an impact on 19th Century philosophy like no other. Their discoveries provide a different perspective on modern psychology. ("Understanding Learners", n.d.). Psychology as a Discipline According to "Understanding Learners" (n.d.), “Psychology as a discipline aims to describe behavior, explain behavior...
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...figure during the same period as Descartes. The two would consistently write to each other concerning philosophical issues between the years 1643 and 1649. Elisabeth of Bohemia was more Aristotelian, meaning that actions between the body and mind are “accepted as true and in harmony with one another, provided they are interpreted properly” (Correspondence, 22). As a political activist, she believes that the study of philosophy is too abstract to be considered political. Unlike Descartes, Elisabeth believes that the Cartesian mind carries various physical elements. She thinks that the mind causing a physical body to interact is unrealistic. It is a two-way street. The mind can affect the body, just as the body can affect the mind. To her, something that is immaterial cannot make something material move. Descartes’ idea is that the mind holds no physical aspects, Elisabeth of Bohemia falls in between. She believes that there are some material components to the mind. She does not understand how a nonphysical thing can cause the movement or interaction of a physical thing. In a letter, she...
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...link: descartes DESCARTES (1596-1650) AND THE CARTESIAN DOGMA OF A MECHANICAL UNIVERSE theme: Descartes is usually regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. His belief in the certainty of knowledge or 'truth' - the 'Cartesian belief' - was the basis for his method of analytic reasoning - the 'Cartesian method' - which he claimed was a function of the 'soul' - 'Cartesian doctrine'. He viewed the universe as a machine designed by divine reason or 'God' - the 'Cartesian dogma'. Descartes' perception of 'human nature'... The "essence of human nature lies in thought, and all the things we conceive clearly and distinctly are true". In this way Descartes demonstrated the value of error and proved his doctrine - the 'Cartesian doctrine' - that human reason was a valid means of searching for certain knowledge or 'truth'. "Most ancient civilizations knew what we have forgotten: that knowledge is a fearful thing. To know the name of something is to hold power over it. In ancient myths and legends, eating from the tree of knowledge meant banishment from one garden or another. In the modern world, this Janus-like quality of knowledge has been forgotten. Descartes, for example, reached the conclusion that 'the more I sought to inform myself, the more I realized how ignorant I was.' Instead of taking this as a proper conclusion of a good education, Descartes thought ignorance was a solvable problem and set forth to find certain truth through a process of radical skepticism." (Miller...
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...THE MIND IN IDEALISM Philosophy of mind is widely considered a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness, and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind–body problem, i.e. the relationship of the mind to the body, is commonly seen as one key issue in philosophy of mind, although there are other issues concerning the nature of the mind that do not involve its relation to the physical body, such as how consciousness is possible and the nature of particular mental states. One of these issues that do not presume a relationship of a mind and body is the conception of mind in Idealism. Philosophically, idealism is the view that fundamental reality is the make-up of mind and ideas only. This essay will discuss at length what the mind generally means to the idealist especially in the classical sense as espoused by George Berkeley and then proceed to analyse the concept of mind or self in the radical transcendentalism of Joseph von Schelling and conclude with Edmund Husserl, a 20th century philosopher and reputed founder of Phenomenology Idealism is the form of monism that sees the world as consisting of minds, mental contents and or consciousness, according to Stoljar (2005). Idealists are not faced with explaining how minds arise from bodies: rather, the world, bodies and objects are regarded as mere appearances held by minds. According to Stoljar, accounting for the mind–body...
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...explain the relationship between mind and matter. Aristotle and Plato have tackled their version on dualism. Cartesian means “pertaining to the thought of Descartes” according to Edward Feser, “Philosophy of Mind.” Cartesian Dualism originates from Rene Descartes whose version of dualism is well known and an accepted explanation of the mind and body being vastly different. Let’s go deeper in the thoughts of Descarte’s and the support to the validity of his view on dualism. According to Professor Edward Feser’s book “Philosophy of Mind” Descarte’s “dualism claims that there is a difference between the mind and the body. Basically the mind is different from the body. We need a body to sustain life, whereas Descarte’s view is that the mind is an immaterial object. The mind allows a person to think, hope, believe and even doubt. These exist only in the mind and not a physical object. They are not physical, but the body is. Cartesian dualism clearly separates the conscious (mind) as a separate non-material form. Now let’s look deeper into the physical aspects of the body and the physical aspect of the mind. Descarte’s view depicts the body and the mind as extremely different. The body is a materialistic object; it has height, width, has movement and takes up physical space. The body itself is full of chemicals, water, tissue, organs and a skeletal frame that makes the body a physical object. These are the physical aspects of that differ from the mind. The physical aspect of the body...
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...the relation of mind and body. Human beings are material objects. However, unlike other material objects (e.g. non-living things) humans have the ability to form judgements and reason their existence. Meaning to say that, human beings have 'minds'. In general, humans are characterised as having both a mind and body. By definition, mind is referred to the mental processes, thought and consciousness whereas body is referred to the physical aspects of the brain-neurons and how the brain is structured. This is known as dualism. In the philosophy of mind, dualism is the theory that the mental (mind) and the physical (body) are both real or exist, but both of them are different kinds of thing. The theory of mind-body dualism is presented by Rene Descartes (1596-1650), who holds that both mind and body are substances, in which the body is a material substance as it is extended in space whereas the mind is an unextended in space, and so called spiritual substance. According to Descartes, he believed that mind and body actually can interact through the pineal gland in the brain. In Descartes’s first principle of philosophy, “I think, therefore I am”, makes mind more certain than matter. It also showed that the mind which is a thinking thing can exist apart from its extended body. Hence, Descartes said that the mind is a substance that is different from the body (a substance whose essence is thought). This became known as “Substance Dualism” (view that the mind and body function...
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...period. However, many philosophers have different arguments on culture in various time periods. This term paper will explain the life, times, and critical theories of Rene Descartes who is one of the most significant thinkers who ever inquired into the connection between mind and body. It will also explain how culture and period influenced his ideas. Also, it will identify and evaluate the key concepts and analyzes that comprised Descartes' theories. Furthermore, it will detect and describe Descartes' contributions to the field of philosophy as discussed below. The key concepts and analysis that comprises his theories that include the theory of sense perception and the theory of ideas which he mostly concentrates on. According to Descartes' ontology, there are three levels of being which are mode attribute and substance.. The levels of being are agreed regarding ontological requirement, Modes rely on attributes of their being in a way that those same attributes do not depend on methods used and but to rely on the substances for their being in a way that elements do not depend on characteristics. The spirit or nature of a mind, Descartes says, is to think. If a thing does not have faith in, it is not a mind. In his analytical, this very feature of Descartes' theory of ideas, Vere Chappell introduced the terminology of “counterparts” (Chappell, 1986). The sun as symbolized in an approach, which might be taken to be the “objective sun”, “this would be an objective counterpart...
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...The mind/body problem in Descartes Descartes had a major role in shaping and influencing modern philosophy during the rationalism movement. This idea of rationalism was a method of understanding the world through the application of reason as the means to obtaining knowledge. It was during this age of enlightenment that Rationalism and empiricism which can be defined as the acquirement of knowledge through practical experience rather than pure reason, had made its impact as one of the main intellectual and cultural factors that had revolutionized the western world. Thus, the study of science, mathematics and philosophy were all put into question and radically transformed during this period. In 1636, Descartes released his first work ‘Discourse on the Method’ where he discussed techniques on problem solving and introduces one of the most famous philosophical quotes of all time, Cogito ergo sum, or “I think, therefore I exist.” His second work, ‘Meditations on First philosophy’ that addressed the disputes concerning his first published work, ‘Discourse on the Method’, had theories that would change the way people thought about their minds and bodies and the relationship between the two. In reference to this statement, Descartes proposes rational explanations that the human mind is distinct and separated from the body due to his assertion that the mind is the soul that outlives the body and this ultimately results to him attributing the splendors and working of the mind to the...
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...Explain why the mind-body problem (i.e., the problem of the interaction between the mind and the body) is a challenge (or an objection) to Descartes’ philosophy of mind. In other words, explain how we can make an argument from the mind-body problem against Descartes’ theory of the mind. Descartes’ philosophy of mind has several aspects, but not all of them are related to the mind-body problem. Please first explain the relevant parts of his philosophy of mind, and then explain the challenge from the mind-body problem. Ziyao Wang Phil105 Prof. Chong Yuan Feb.1st Descartes was the first to formulate the mind–body problem in the form in which it exists today. He identified the mind with consciousness and thoughts are distinguished from the brain as the position of hardware. There are several parts of Descartes’ philosophy of mind. To begin with, your brain is totally independent of your body, you can exist without a body. Secondly, you know your mind and thoughts most much more than anything else. Furthermore, body must have space and mind must has thoughts and no space. Take animal for example, animals do not have thoughts because they cannot think. Last but not least, the certain things cannot be doubted. The most important, Descartes is a dualist, in his view, the mind and the body are not the same thing. Minds, thoughts and consciousness are not in the space, however, body must in space. Moreover, the brain just serves as a connection between the mind and the body. Human’s...
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