Cartesian Dualism - Essay Example

Introduction

In the philosophy of human minds, body and mind may be viewed as separable or mental elements are not physical, while the body is. Cartesian dualism is the philosophical concept that explains that the mind and the body are separate and distinct from each other. The concept means that the mind and body are not; they cannot be the same.

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The mind is not material and is involved in different activities, such as thinking and feeling. On the other hand, the body is material, and it is engaged in physical stuff like walking, talking, and playing. It explains that the body follows its laws of matter expect only when it is interfered with by the mind. Man's mind is invisible and cannot be changed while the body can be changed. Therefore, the brain acts as a connection or a locus of interaction between the body and mind. Some arguments support the theory, and others are against the idea.

All dualist in philosophy denies that the mind is the same as the brain, but a part denies that the mind is solely a brain product. Different dualists explain dualism in different ways. Substance dualists argue that the body is composed of a different substance with the mind, and a mind is only a thinking object that lacks the characteristics of material things (Paul, 2011) . On the other hand, property dualists argue that the mental states can be reduced to attributes of the brain's state. Other dualists argue that the mind and body are different, but the mind's vocabulary cannot be reduced to the physical body's vocabulary.

Advantages of Cartesian Dualism

There are several merits to the argument that the mind and body are two separate substances. The first is that the mental states are perceived differently from the sensory phenomena by the mind. The argument means that mental and physical phenomena may seemingly have disparate qualities. The physical elements have no subjective characteristics, while the mental ones have subjective characteristics. For example, people view invisible things differently, such as which music is nice to a particular individual or the degree of the sky's blueness.

Cartesian Dualism also has some religious advantages. The arguments of dualism conquer with the idea of the soul and the afterlife. The existence of separation of the mind and body gives meaning to the notion that there is life after death. The difference between human beings' material and immaterial nature also exists, which connects God and the Earth. Some religious groups, for example, Hinduism, believe in reincarnation (Huenemann, 2008) . The process of reincarnation can only happen when the body is free from the spirit.

Another advantage of the Cartesian dualism is introspection. When someone pays attention to his or her mind, the person is aware of the feelings or thoughts, not of the electric impulses or neurotransmitters. However, there is the assumption that humans' ability to look inside themselves is more reliable than a person's power to perceive in the external world.

The distinction of humans from other animals is also an advantage of dualism. The minds characterize people as being human, and this signifies a sense of status. Since human beings' minds are different from other animals, this means that maybe they are made of different substances. Some religious beliefs point out that life after death necessitates the soul to live on, which differs from the animals.

Cartesian dualism can also explain why there exists a past life regression. According to dualists, people's mental and physical histories are synchronized in a manner that the events of the mind appear to cause the events of the physical body and vice versa. A separation of the mind-body must exist for someone to have experiences and memories from the previous life. Also, the separation explains why the soul can experience life while the body is dead. There are also out of body experiences by human beings that only exist due to the separation.

Also, the argument from the parapsychological phenomena is an advantage of dualism. It is hard to explain things like seeing the future and mind reading. If things were possible, this would have been another argument of irreducibility. Furthermore, there exists no evidence that the phenomena are real under laboratory conditions.

Disadvantages of Cartesian Dualism

One disadvantage of Cartesian dualism is the lack of a rational understanding of how there exists any possible interaction that has the possibility of taking place between the mind and the brain. The disadvantage is dependable on the assumption that their supernatural realm does not exist, held accountable for the mind and brain's interaction.

Another disadvantage is based on when the brain of the human being is damaged. When the brain gets damaged, for example, from disease or maybe drug abuse, human beings' mental powers are always compromised. The theory argues that if the brain and mind were separate in the true sense, the human's cognitive abilities would not get compromised (Descartes, 2020) . It is based on the presumption that there is no existence of the supernatural and that God has no reason whatsoever for letting the bran limit our mental function while people are living.

Another disadvantage of the theory is the argument from the neural dependence. If emotions were only the non-physical mind's properties, they should not have affected brain damage or physical control. The thoughts of human beings are often affected by alcohol or even senility. Another disadvantage of Cartesian dualism is that different pieces of evidence support the evolution of natural selection. If humans are solely the results of physical processes, then there exists no need to include the non-physical substances, the scientific explanations about human beings.

Another disadvantage of the Cartesian dualism emerges from the argument in physics. Physics argues that any actions from the non-physical mind in the brain would violate the physical laws. For example, in psychics, someone's decision to walk causes neurons in the person's brain to cause walking. On the argument of dualism, it would mean that the physical energy generated to enable the walking would be like a miracle, which there is no scientific explanation from where the energy came from (Campbell & Biscontini, 2020) . Such interactions go against physics law. Dualistic interactions have been criticized as overtime for violating the general principles of science.

Best Alternative

Churchland's arguments on dualism obey materialism, the belief that everything that exists is matter. He asserts that since humans' senses cannot recognize their minds, the mind does not exist. Therefore, Churchland holds to the materialism of elimination in which it argues that the ordinary psychology of the mind may be wrong. Human beings do not gain their sense of self from the imaginary mind but rather the physical brain.

The best alternative to Cartesian dualism, as outlined by Churchland, is Property dualism. The argument holds that the characteristics of the conscious mind are not physical properties of physical elements. They are not physical in the sense that the explanation or reduction to any physical properties cannot be represented. The argument also explains that the mental characteristics only emerge from the brain's process that has any causal effects (Berk, 2005). The thoughts of human beings are the byproducts of the physical properties that determine what the person does. The argument is known as Epiphenomenalism.

Interactionist is another argument of property dualism. In the statement, the mental states cause behavior, unlike the epiphenomenalism argument. However, the idea that mental characteristics do emerge from the physical properties but cannot be explained frequently appears frequently. Element property dualism is another argument that supports property dualism. Mental characteristics are compared to those of the electromagnetic (Saket & Hakkak, 2018) . The mind's features are not emergent but fundamental, just like how electromagnetic is fundamental and emerge from mechanical properties. However, the argument has a problem. Other key properties like electrometric and gravity are everywhere, but mental characteristics only exist in the complex systems that have evolved on one specific planet.

Conclusion

In conclusion, human beings are made up of two different properties. The concept is known as Cartesian Dualism. Human beings comprise mater, which is the physical stuff capable of walking, and the non-physical mind, capable of doing things like thinking. Different dualists have different views and arguments on dualism. The theory can be of various categories such as substance, popular, and property, depending on the dualist's opinions. Some statements are against the idea, and others support the view. It also has some advantages such as; from religion, introspection, and irreducibility. Disadvantages arise from arguments from simplicity, neural dependence, and evolutionary history. On the other hand, the best alternative to Cartesian dualism, as outlined by Churchland, is Property dualism. The argument holds that the characteristics of the conscious mind are not physical properties of physical elements. The alternative can be supported by various arguments such as; Epiphenomenalism, Interactionist, and element property.

References

Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. Pearson Education New Zealand.

Campbell, J., & Biscontini, T. (2020). Empiricism; Rationalism: Salem Press Encyclopedia. Salem Press.

Descartes, R. (2020, September 10). Meditation 1: Of the things of which we may doubt. Meditation on First Philosophy. Vancouver, BC, Canada: PHIL 1011: Introduction to Epistemology and Metaphysics.

Huenemann, C. (2008, September 10). Understanding Rationalism. Stocksfield, England: Acumen.

Paul, A. (2011, July). Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born.

Saket, M., & Hakkak, S. M. (2018). The Existence of the External World According to John Locke. Pizhuhish/ha-yi Falsafi- Kalami, 26-48.