...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...
Words: 1704 - Pages: 7
...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...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 1230 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 911 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 2973 - Pages: 12
...centuries. Descartes’ felt the only thing in his life that could not be a deception from the Great Demon was his mind. He believed his body and surroundings could all be an illusion, but of the one thing he was sure of, because he had complete control over was his mind, his philosophy was “I think, therefore I am.” Because of this, he proposed that the mind and the body were two separate entities. This proposal went against the common theories of the time, leading Princess Elisabeth to write to Descartes asking for further explanation on what exactly he meant by the mind and body being “separate”. She asked how it could be possible for the mind and body to be separate entities yet still work in perfect unity. Descartes suggests that because of Elisabeth’s metaphysical beliefs, she is not capable of comprehending the mind and body as individual, separate entities. (Tollesfen, 1999) However, Princess Elisabeth did not only write to Descartes to have Philosophical conversation, but for assurance on the morality of Descartes theory. In her first correspondence there were undertones that she feared morally the separating could be detrimental. For if the mind and body were in fact separate entities, than the essences of one’s thinking would leave them free from responsibility. As you can imagine this mentality would greatly affect government power. For if the body and mind were indeed separate no responsibility could...
Words: 1584 - Pages: 7
...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...
Words: 1964 - Pages: 8
...George Herbert Mead (1863—1931) [pic]George Herbert Mead is a major figure in the history of American philosophy, one of the founders of Pragmatismalong with Peirce, James, Tufts, and Dewey. He published numerous papers during his lifetime and, following his death, several of his students produced four books in his name from Mead's unpublished (and even unfinished) notes and manuscripts, from students' notes, and from stenographic records of some of his courses at the University of Chicago. Through his teaching, writing, and posthumous publications, Mead has exercised a significant influence in 20th century social theory, among both philosophers and social scientists. In particular, Mead's theory of the emergence of mind and self out of the social process of significant communication has become the foundation of the symbolic interactionist school of sociology and social psychology. In addition to his well- known and widely appreciated social philosophy, Mead's thought includes significant contributions to the philosophy of nature, the philosophy of science, philosophical anthropology, the philosophy of history, and process philosophy. Both John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead considered Mead a thinker of the highest order. 3. Social Theory a. Communication and Mind In Mind, Self and Society (1934), Mead describes how the individual mind and self arises out of the social process. Instead of approaching human experience in terms of individual psychology, Mead...
Words: 3897 - Pages: 16
...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 can clearly be...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...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 of that familiar body that exists in the sky. The sun in the heavens, the real sun, could be taken. In this context to be the “formal sun”. In these...
Words: 1233 - Pages: 5
...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 separately...
Words: 1196 - Pages: 5
...UCOR 2500-01 12-7-15 Ideals of Living The ancient philosophers present differing views on how a life should be lived. Both Socrates and Confucius prescribe a way to live the best life, but their reasons for doing so vary. Socratic philosophy is based on the pursuit of wisdom leading to the separation of the soul from the body. Confucian philosophy describes the path to become an exemplary person, which draw on the lessons of history and community. In comparing their beliefs, we can learn life lessons that are of benefit in the here and now and others that are more esoteric. In the Socratic philosophy of soul and body separation, Socrates maintains that the separation of the soul and body is the end goal of a philosopher’s life. He goes so far as to say that a philosopher ought to welcome death, as it is the culmination of one’s life. He is then asked why suicide is not an option, if a philosopher welcomes death. Socrates rebuts by saying that we are the possessions of our creators, “…would you not be angry if one of your possessions killed itself when you had not given any sign that you wished it to die.” (P. 99) Socrates continues to expand his philosophy by supporting why a philosopher would welcome death. He states that in death, “…I should go first to other wise and good gods, and then to the men who have died and are better than men are here. Be assured, that as it is, I expect to join the company of good men.” (P. 100) Socrates argues that a philosopher who has...
Words: 1736 - Pages: 7
...Rene Descartes When the term modern philosophy is mentioned, it is usually to make a distinction from ancient and medieval philosophy therefore it does not only mean the philosophy of the 21st century, it means, the philosopher Rene Descartes. Therefore in practice what the term, modern philosophy means is, philosophy from Descartes onwards. He was best known for his quote, ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I think, therefore I am). Descartes was born on March 31st 1596, in La Haye, a small town in France. He was educated in classics, logic and the philosophy of Aristotle at the Jesuit college of Henri IV in La Fleche. After he graduated he studied at the University of Poitiers, obtaining his law license in 1616. He then joined the army and during his spare time he studied mathematics (Gaukroger and Hall, 1995). In 1619, he experienced the series of powerful dreams, which influenced him greatly in his pursuit of science and knowledge, and he acknowledged this ass his focal point of his life (Gaukroger and Hall, 1995). Descartes spent time in various parts of Europe before he settled in Dutch Republic. He maintained his studies and lived in various places throughout the Republic. During this time, he began his writing career, and he started to publish his new works that would revolutionize mathematics and philosophy, these works included the world, meditation of first philosophy, principles of philosophy and passions of the soul. His mathematical theories provided the basis for the...
Words: 1045 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 641 - Pages: 3
...Philosophy, ever since its beginning has been used as a tool to answer, and to help better understand complex questions regarding logic, knowledge, truth, and even human existence itself. It can be defined as love of wisdom. Philosophy goes beyond facts, measurements, and scientific findings and it depends on judgment, reflection, and intuition, by this definition we can gather that philosophy is, essentially, the pursuit of knowledge or understanding on a much higher level than usual. In this paper I will present my views on philosophy as a whole by reviewing and evaluating myself as a philosopher during the duration of this course and how I believe this course has affected the way I think, as well as how I benefited from it. This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views have changed and my overall view on life is much different than it was before I started this class. I come from a culture where I was taught never to ask questions, and to always believe whatever I was told, especially if someone much older said it, but taking this course has expanded my thinking capacity, and just like Descartes, who was a rationalist, someone who believed that true knowledge is produced by logical and critical thinking, I have upgrade my thinking to a whole new level. This course has helped me to view situations in a subjective manner where I don’t have to use data to determine...
Words: 1607 - Pages: 7