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Descartes Description Of The Human Body

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In part II of this paper, I will explain Descartes’ view regarding the human body in his Treatise on Man (L’homme) and its relation to his ontology and the To Mesland, 9 February 1645 letter. In the Treatise on Man (L’homme), Descartes claims that the human body is composed of of a soul and a body, and proceeds to provide a description of the body itself in order to demonstrate that mind and body would have to be joined to constitute a human body. In like manner, this description follows the same path as his ontology, in which Descartes argues that res cogitans and res extensa are the only elements of the human body. Similarly, Descartes’ description of the human body fits with his claim made in To Mesland, 9 February 1645 letter , claiming …show more content…

CSM I, 99), Descartes suggests that the our bodies (human body) are composed of a soul and a body. However, Descartes finds necessary to provide a description of the soul and the body individually to better understand how these join and unite ‘to constitute men who resemble us’ (L’homme). In this case, Descartes seems to create a scenario where the body possesses all its functions, but does not possess rationality (Normore). For the body, Descartes describes it as a ‘statute or machine made of earth’ that is created by God in the image of human beings, externally and internally. In the external side of the body, God creates the body with the same colors and shapes of all the parts of the human body. In the internal side of the body, God creates the body the same organs as the human body that allow to conduct the same mechanistic internal acts (e.g. breathe). Taking this view into consideration, Descartes thinks that the human body itself possesses a mechanical explanation and acts based on the disposition of their organs without reason. As Descartes asserts, this allows the body “to imitate all those of our functions”. Notice, in this passage Descartes fails to provide a description of the soul (the mind). This means, however, that the soul does not take part for this mechanistic actions, and these may take place without the soul/mind; these actions, however, would be repetitive and would have no

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According to Descartes, God gave human beings senses, however, Descartes’ philosophy suggests that the senses do not represent the true natures of physical objects. This can be seen throughout Descartes’ first three meditations, as there a recurring theme that the senses are an unreliable method to grasp the true nature of physical objects. Introducing the concept of a benevolent and non-deceiving God who would not allow humans to be deceived by their senses, Descartes claims that despite all this deceit, the senses are still reliable to a certain extent and that error is due to our imperfection rather than the fault of God. In the First Meditation, Descartes calls all his beliefs and knowledge into doubt, stating that there were many instances

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1.) What does it mean to say that Descartes was a dualist and an interactionist? According to Descartes, How did humans differ from animals? To say that Descartes was a dualist is to say that he believed the mind and body are two separate and distinguishable essences. The immaterial mind and the material body although separate, causally interact.

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THE ZEBRA MUSSEL INCIDENT The Zebra Mussel Incident Zebra Mussels are an invasive species which now dominate the Great Lakes region, they were introduced in the 1980’s and ever since then their quantities have increased dramatically. Since the time they arrived they have caused many problems including problems in the ecosystem and with the economy. Human’s have been trying ever since their arrival to eliminate or reduce their quantities but not much progress has been made. Right now Zebra Mussels are one of the biggest issues affecting the great lakes.

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In this paper I will explain Elizabeth of Bohemia’s main argument against Cartesian dualism. I will also explain why Churchland rejects Cartesian dualism and her arguments against it and what alternatives she has in mind. At the end I will explain why I think a Cartesian mind is not plausible. Descartes believed in Cartesian Dualism, which is saying that the mind and body are two different things. He says that the body can be divided into pieces but the mind/soul are indivisible.

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However, Descartes is indeed certain of the fact that he is a thinking being, and that he exists. As a result of this argument, Descartes makes a conclusion that the things he perceives clearly and distinctly cannot be false, and are therefore true (Blanchette). This clear and distinct perception is an important component to the argument that Descartes makes in his fifth meditation for the existence of God. This paper explains Descartes ' proof of God 's existence from Descartes ' fifth meditation, Pierre Gassendi 's objection to this proof, and then offers the paper 's author 's opinion on both the proof and objection.

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We know clear and distinct perceptions independently by God, and his existence provides us with a certainty we might not possess otherwise. However, another possible strategy would be to change Gods role in Descartes philosophy. Instead of seeing God as the validation of clear and distinct perceptions, rather see him as a safeguard against doubt. This strategy, however, is a problem since it re-constructs the Meditations – Philosophical work of Descartes –.This is because it would not be God, who is the ultimate foundation of knowledge, but the clear and distinct

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Therefore, Descartes argues that the mind and the body must be two logically distinct

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In the sixth meditation, Descartes postulates that there exists a fundamental difference in the natures of both mind and body which necessitates that they be considered as separate and distinct entities, rather than one stemming from the other or vice versa. This essay will endeavour to provide a critical objection to Descartes’ conception of the nature of mind and body and will then further commit to elucidating a suitably Cartesian-esque response to the same objection. (Descartes,1641) In the sixth meditation Descartes approaches this point of dualism between mind and matter, which would become a famous axiom in his body of philosophical work, in numerous ways. To wit Descartes postulates that he has clear and distinct perceptions of both

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He argues that the body and soul are two elements that have the same underlying substance. He maintains that a person’s soul is the same as his nature of body; however, he argues that the mind differed from other parts of the body as it lacked a physical feature. In this case, he maintains that the intellect lacks a physical form, and this allows it to receive every form. It allows a person to think about anything, including the material object. In this case, he argues that if the intellect were in a material form, it could be sensitive to only some physical objects.

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When I try to conceive of the self, I do not think of the mind but bodily behaviour, i.e. physical displays of anger. If we cannot gain an impression of the mind, then we cannot possess an idea of the self. The assertion that Descartes has a clear and distinct perception that he is “... a thinking thing” is therefore made redundant and his conceivability argument is

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But may believe even Descartes isn’t exactly clear on the inner working of the relationship (Robinson, Howard). Spinoza’s substance monism cleverly dissolves this issue by labeling mind (thought) and body (extension) as attributes to a common and singular substance. Other substance pluralist philosophies are also denied when we truly capture the infinite extent of

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