Rene Descartes Meditation 1 Analysis

Since the beginning of time people have always been searching for the answers to the question of existence and the nature of reality. Famous philosophers of the past have always turned their attention to fundamental issues, such as the understanding of the human essence. Regarding that, a scientific branch called metaphysics originated from philosophy and was established as a part of philosophical thinking. Over time, metaphysical visions have changed, and theories of reality have began to be viewed from different perspectives. It can be seen while comparing the visions of Rene Descartes, who has developed the theory of dualism, and philosopher Paul M. Churchland, who stands for the materialist views of reality. Analyzing the ideas of these

He develops the theory of substance dualism claiming that there is a connection between human mind and body. In terms of this theory, Descartes proves the existence of physical objects saying: “… the fact that I find myself having mental images when I turn my attention to physical objects seems to imply that these objects really do exist” (Descartes pg. 174). This assumption leads to the idea that imagination considerably differs from pure understanding. The matter is that imagination involves the use of the personal power of thought as it applies to a certain body or physical object. Reflecting on personal feelings and beliefs, Descartes explains the interrelations between mind and body through the perception of physical objects: “… a certain physical object, which I view as belonging to me in a special way, is related to me more closely than any other. I can’t be separated from it as I can from other physical objects; I feel all of my emotions and desires in it and because of it; and I am aware of pains and pleasant feelings in it” (Descartes pg. 176). He assumes that his essence is tightly related to his body so that together they form a single unit. It can be proved by the fact that he himself, like any other person, has sensations and not just perceives physical objects by thinking and pure understanding, but develops feelings in

He develops the theory of eliminative materialism that can be described as the belief that traditional folk psychology cannot give a coherent and reasonable explanation of the reality of human behaviors, as it only refers to such common concepts as beliefs, emotions, and feelings. He believes that the reality is now subordinate to a new framework that develops in terms of a “neuroscientific account” (Churchland pg. 287) According to Churchland, “folk psychology is not just an incomplete representation of our inner natures; it is an outright representation of our internal states and activities” (Churchland pg. 287). Churchland assumes that people’s common-sense framework would be eliminated over time as it gives a misleading insight of human behaviors, cognitive abilities, and the nature of reality at large. The matter is that the eliminative materialist perspective is built according to a strong conviction that folk psychology is a “hopelessly primitive and deeply confused conception of our internal activities” (Churchland pg. 288). The main argument for eliminative materialism suggested by Churchland is the fact that folk psychology has proved unable to explain the fundamental materiality of the human essence, including the nature of learning, memory, and mental