Substance Dualism Flashcards
How does Descartes establish the mind?
3 waves of doubt
What is the cogito
A self-verifying though - writing I am not writing disproves the statement through the act of doing it - thinking proves your existence in the same way
What does he do in meditation 6
Offers a priori arguments for Substance Dualism
What is the real distinction?
Leibniz’s law - two things are the same iff they share every property. Mind is immaterial, unextended etc. body is material, extended therefore distinct
What is the argument from divisibility?
My mind is not divisible but my body is, therefore they have different properties and are distinct
What is the argument from conceivability?
♣ I have a clear and distinct idea (gained though a priori) of myself as something that thinks and isn’t extended in space (mind)
♣ I have a clear and distinct idea of having a body that doesn’t think and is extended in space
♣ If I have a clear and distinct idea of something, God could have created this to correspond with my idea of it
♣ Therefore, God could have created my mind independent from my body
♣ Conclusion: My mind and body are distinct
What is God for Descartes
The epistemological certifier - God would not deceive us of clear and distinct ideas because he is perfect
How does the mind and body interact
They are causally linked - parched throat causes feeling of thirst which causes desire for water which causes drinking
What is the pineal gland?
Where Descartes believes the two substances interact - in the middle of the two hemispheres - causes experience of intermingling, but this is false
What is the masked man criticism?
You’re at a masked ball and a man came up to you and said he was your friend Bill, following Leibniz’s law, this is not Bill because he has a mole on his face and they did not share this property. However, he removes the mask and it is Bill – conceivability argument is weak; although they may appear to be distinct, his belief (intentional state) that mind and body are separate needs proof.
Descartes may respond by saying his clear and distinct idea is justified proof as they are a priori and therefore indubitable
