Dualism

Dualism


          I believe that the popular or "ghost in the machine" form of

substance dualism best solves the mind body problem.  My views in this area have

been influenced by my twelve years of Catholic education.  The soul, or mind,

depending on your level of belief, was a complete and separate entity and was

the center of a human being.  The body was an ambulatory device that the soul

directed.  The idea that the mind is a separate entity and that it is

independent of the physical body is the central point of substance dualism.


          Churchland explains that substance dualism claims that the mind is

a distinct nonphysical thing, a complete nonphysical entity that is independent

of any physical body to which it is temporarily attached.  Any and all mental

states and activities, as well as physical ones, originate from this unique

entity.  Substance dualism states that the real essence of you has nothing to do

with your physical body, but rather from the distinct nonphysical entity of the

mind.  The mind is in constant interaction with the body.  The body's sense

organs create experiences in the mind.  The desires and decisions of the mind

cause the body to act in certain ways.  This is what makes each mind's body its

own.


          The popular or "ghost in the machine" form of substance dualism

states that a person is a "ghost in a machine", the ghost being the mind or

spirit and the machine is the body.  Within this description, the mind/spirit

controls the body and is in intimate contact with the brain.  The brain would be

the nexus between the mind and body.


          The popular form of substance dualism was adopted after the

difficulties of Cartesian dualism could not be overcome.  Rene Descartes stated

that the nonphysical and the physical could not interact.  this became a problem

in dualism since the nonphysical mind needed to interact with the physical body.

These difficulties provided a motive for the move to popular substance dualism.


          The first major argument for substance dualism is religion.  Each

of the major religions place belief in life after death; that there is an

immortal soul that will survive death.  This very closely resembles substance

dualism.  The mind can be substituted for the immortal soul.  In fact the two

are almost interchangeable.  This argument is primarily the basis for my own

belief in substance dualism.  My personal experiences as a religion student give

me insight into this argument.


          The second major argument for substance dualism is irreducibility.

this points to a variety of mental phenomena that no physical explanation could

account for what is going on.  An example would be the quality and meaningful

content of human thoughts and beliefs.  These things cannot be reduced to purely

physical terms, hence irreducibility.  This is also another good argument that I

can understand from personal experiences.  I cannot reduce my reactions and

feelings toward how a steak tastes to a mathematical equation.  This is the same

idea.


          The final argument for substance dualism is parapsychological

phenomena.  MentThis is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Electronic References. Please register below now!


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