Dualism Flashcards
What does Plato’s argument from recollection imply about the source of knowledge?
Plato concluded that the source of knowledge is a priori, making him a rationalist, and there must be a world of perfect and unchanging forms (the World of Forms).
Describe Plato’s dualism.
Plato believed the body was like a prison for the soul, trapping it in this world of appearances. He thought our souls came from the world of forms and had a vague memory of the forms.
Summarize Descartes’ substance dualism.
Descartes’ substance dualism posits two distinct substances: mental (thinking) and physical (extension). He argued the mind is indivisible and non-extended, unlike the divisible, extended body.
Describe Descartes’ indivisibility argument.
Descartes argued that the mind, being non-extended, is indivisible, unlike the physical body, which is divisible. According to Leibniz’ law, the mind and body cannot be identical if they have different properties.
What is the objection regarding the divisibility of the mind?
The mind can be divided into perception, memory, and emotions, challenging Descartes’ claim that the mind is indivisible.
Explain the concept of divided hemispheres as a challenge to Descartes.
Modern psychology shows divided brain hemispheres can result in separate consciousness, suggesting the mind can be divisible, contradicting Descartes’ argument.
What is the conceivability argument by Descartes?
Descartes argued that since we can conceive of the mind as a thinking, non-extended thing and the body as non-thinking, extended thing, they must be distinct substances.
Explain the masked man fallacy in relation to Descartes’ conceivability argument.
The masked man fallacy shows we can conceive of the impossible due to ignorance, challenging the premise that what is conceivable is possible.
What is the interaction problem in dualism?
The interaction problem questions how non-physical mental substance can causally interact with physical substance. Descartes suggested the pineal gland as the interaction site, but this lacks evidence.
Describe Gilbert Ryle’s critique of dualism.
Ryle critiqued dualism as a category mistake, arguing the mind is not a non-physical thing but rather a set of behavioral dispositions, famously calling dualism the “dogma of the Ghost in the Machine.”
Descartes work
Les Passions de l’âme
