Descartes' mind-body dualism and the cogito argument

Descartes

Renee Descartes -- Mind Body Duality

The mind and body are interesting concepts to study. The mind is what allows us to think and maintain thoughts. The mind is also connected to the body in some manner. We all have some perception of our bodies that are minds generate. Our minds also receive sensations from our bodies. For example, when our stomachs are empty in relays this information to our minds so that we can use our bodies to address the hunger. Therefore there is no doubt that they are connected. The exact relationship between the mind and the body has been a problem that many philosophers and psychologist have struggled with for years. This paper will look at how Renee Descartes has provided an argument for these issues and how they are still relevant to this day.

Content

The mind-body problem is related to the fact that our minds and our bodies are connected so they can be considered part of the same system. However, there tasks are so distinct that there is definitely a separation between them. Our body works from its interactions with the world through its senses and its relationship to the mind. Descartes was a philosopher that questioned the senses and the ability to trust them.

I perceive first that I have a head, hands, feet and other members composing that body which I considered as part, or perhaps even as the whole, of myself. I perceive further, that that body was placed among many others, by which it was capable of being affected in diverse ways, both beneficial and hurtful; and what was beneficial I remarked by a certain sensation of pleasure, and what was hurtful by a sensation of pain. And besides this pleasure and pain, I was likewise conscious of hunger, thirst, and other appetites, as well as certain corporeal inclinations toward joy, sadness, anger, and similar passions (Descartes, Meditation VI).

These types of meditations and considering how the mind and body work together led Descartes to understand that our concept of our self comes from this relationship. Yet he also understands that these two functions are also completely separated. He says after one argument "This would be sufficient to teach me that the mind or soul of man is entirely different from the body, if I had not already been apprised of it on other grounds."

This work ultimately led to his famous "Cogito Ergo Sum" which is Latin and translates as I think therefore I am. Descartes felt that even if you disconnected the mind from the body and the role of the senses, then there would still be the mind left. That is if your mind was just a brain in a jar that dreamed all the different parts of life, or if you were hooked up to the Matrix (like the movie) and all of your experiences were digital, the fact that you think at all is sufficient evidence to know with out at doubt that you exist. Therefore, since you think, you are something, some kind of being or entity with conscious capabilities.