Mason Payonk
Professor Knowles
3 June 2015
Intro to Western Philosophy
Final Paper
Describe in detail Descartes’ mind-body dualism. Do we as human consist of a mind and a
body the way that Descartes describes? Or could the body also be a starting point for a
first philosophy?
Rene Descartes’ theory of mind-body dualism is an essential aspect of his overall
philosophy. From his very first meditation, we see him separating the mind and the body
indirectly. As he rids himself of all previous knowledge and calls everything into radical doubt, he
begins by stripping away his five senses, the body’s most important functions. In conclusion, he
comes to decide that the mind and the body are two separate entities with separate key
functions.
Initially, Descartes knows that he can call into doubt the existence of the body, but with
no rationality can he question the fact that he exists or is a thinking thing. To attempt to prove
the existence of the body, he begins Meditation 6 with his explanation of material things and
questions whether they exist. Rene believes that the possibility of material objects existing is
strong because they are purely based on mathematics. To further his explanation, he brings
both imagination and the senses back into play. Beginning with imagination, Descartes proves
that the imagination comes from the body. By perceiving and understanding that a triangle is in
fact a three-sided figure, his idea begins to become clear and distinct. He then tests his
imagination. Yes, he is able to imagine this three-sided shape, but it is when he imagines a
shape with an extremely large amount of sides that his mind is limited. He believes that the
imagination in no way can be an essential part of the mind because he can exist without
imagining. Since it cannot rely on the mind for it’s necessary existence, the body must come into
play. If the body is essential to the imagination, then Descarte suggest that this is what allows
the mind to picture concrete objects. By examining the situation from the senses, he
acknowledges the fact that he has a body that must exist in the world. This body is able to
experience emotion, pain, pleasure etc. This shows that the body is concrete. It is able to take
up physical space and is thus an extension. Concurrently, the mind is a thinking thing. The mind
is what allows the body to carry out its actions. So, not only is the body just an extended object,
but it is an extension of the human mind.
Descartes goes as far to say that the mind can essentially exist without the body. He
believes he proves this by expressing his clear and distinct findings. If the mind is a thinking
thing that is non-extended and the body is a non-thinking thing that is extended, it must be
necessarily true that they can exist without reliance on each other. Just as he did with faith,
Descartes attempts to prove this with reason and logic. He explains that the body is also
