The Cartesian Theory Of Mind - 1648 Words

Renà © Descartes was a French philosopher responsible for many ideas and theories still used in the philosophical world today. He earned the nickname â€Å"Father of modern philosophy† for his work. One of his most in depth and lasting legacies is his â€Å"mind-body dualism† thesis also known as the Cartesian theory of mind. The Cartesian theory states that there are two different types of existence, physical and mental. Whatever exists must fall into only one of these existences and they cannot be both. This could be compared to the two faces of a coin, where when you flip a coin it has to be either heads or tails, when looking at the world it is either in the physical world or the mental world. Another example is how animals are either male or†¦show more content†¦So a body’s life is a public affair, much like the lives of animals and plants. Minds, however, are different from bodies. Minds are not in space, since they do not occupy space like a body does. Minds are part of mental existence. The processes of the mind are not subject to mechanical laws like bodies are. Also the workings of someone’s minds are not able to be witnessed by other people, like a human body is able to be. When you use your mind and you think, imagine or feel an emotion, other people cannot see what is going on in your mind. Since the workings of one’s mind are not able to be observed, this makes the minds life a private affair. This means that a person lives two lives. The first is what happens to his body and the other is what happens in his mind. What happens to the body is in the physical world while what happens in the mind is in the mental world (Ryle). The view that physical objects are in a common field (space) and mental processes occur in a isolated field known as the mind, is the ontological way, while the way t hat â€Å"only our bodies can meet† and we cannot interact with each other’s minds is the epistemological way. Gilbert Ryle sees that Descartes divides a person’s life into two halves, one being external and the other being internal. Every physical thing, including the body, belong to the external half and physical world, while the