What is mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is mind - Essay Example Mind and body belonged to the ancient dualisms in ancient philosophy, similar to momentary and everlasting, particulars and universals, and materialism and idealism. The mind-body problem is largely attributed to Rene Descartes, who examined how the ‘soul’ or immaterial mind could affect the material body. In contrast, monists view the mind-body dualism as absolute physicalism. This was the more concrete, real-world standpoint of Aristotle. Thus, two of the major philosophical perspectives known today are dualism and physicalism (Stewart et al., 2010). Dualism argues that the mind and the body are two absolutely distinct components, separate from each other. In contrast, physicalism argues that the mind and the body are fundamentally one and the same. This paper argues that dualism is the stronger philosophical standpoint. Dualism, within the philosophy of mind, is the belief that the physical and the mental—or body and mind or brain and mind—are, to a certain extent, totally distinct types of thing. Supporters of dualism state that the physical and mental domains have quite distinct features. Mental occurrences have personal, individual features like what does it smell like, how does it appear, or how does it feel like. Such occurrences cannot be seen as mere physical (Stewart et al., 2010). In Meditation II, Descartes demonstrates his own existence as a ‘thinking being’ or a ‘mind’. By the conclusion of Meditation VI, he demonstrates his body’s existence in his broader evidence of material aspects. The fundamental premise of Cartesian dualism is that body and mind are not the same but somewhat different, independent components (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2003). A vital implication of such belief is that the mind, as an independent component, could be in existence or still exist without the body. In contrast, critics argue