3 of 5

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 5

and this identity is retained after death.
During the scientific revolution, in the 17th Century, Rene Descartes argued for a dualistic view of the body and the soul or mind. He was a sceptic in that he thought that nothing could be known for certain; displaying hyperbolic doubt he felt that nothing could be proved except for the very act of thinking. The only thing we can be sure of in the world is that we are aware of ourselves, and are aware that we are thinking. From these musings came the adage "cogito ergo sum." From this Descartes concluded that thought must be unique, something very different to our physical bodies and that the "self" is contained not within the physical body but the soul. This idea in itself can be criticises; Bernard Williams disputes the claim that it is the soul that comprises the self. According to a dualistic point of view if a person's soul was placed in a new body it would have no affect on the person's identity. Bernard Williams has to conclude that this can't be true. He feels memory and personality to be a poor guide to identity as they can be so easily fabricated. He believes that our personal identity is the way in which other people recognise us, and this must include physical characteristics too.

Another part of Descartes' thinking was dependent on the contemporary views of the time. In 17th Century philosophy the view was that a substance was something independent of everything else. According to Descartes there are two substances: matter, which occupies the physical world and mind, which only God and human minds possess. This is what is known as Cartesian dualism.
There is, however, the problem of how the non-physical mind or soul interacts and influences the movements of the physical body. It is comparable to the paradox of Casper the friendly ghost. There is a inconsistency in that Casper is immaterial; he can walk through walls and yet still he can interact with the world and do things like cook eggs. Daniel Dennett's problem with dualism is similar to this; how can a soul animate the body if it is separate from the material world? How does the thought to get up and walk around, translate itself into the actual action? Not only this; there is another serious problem in entirely separating the mind from the body because there are clearly certain things that we do to the body that also affect our minds. For example, the taking of drugs can entirely change our personalities and by the same token our minds can have

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Exploring the mind, body and soul connection in art?
We want to hear your view. Write now!