Meditations of First Philosophy and His Mind & Body Argument Descartes, Rene.

Meditations of First Philosophy; Descartes, Rene.

 Mind And Body Argument

I think, therefore, I am. 

Meditations of First Philosophy

- Descartes, Rene.

Mind, Body & Soul

One of the major arguments in philosophy is the mind-body problem which is an argument that has been discussed by many famous philosophers. The mind-body problem is the argument of how our mind and body connect; are they of one or completely separate?  The mind-body problem is more famously known as “I think therefore I am” from the great works of Descartes. 

            This type of argument helps philosophers understand how the mental processes work as well as a broader understanding of life. This argument also incorporates the functionality of mental thought and how it connects to reality. From one point of view, it can be looked at as the mind and mental state are all physical and everything happens in the brain. This is the view that the mind and body are the same. Another point of view would be for the mind and body to be separate. This way the mind or soul is just occupying the body but they should not be considered the as the same exact thing. Different philosophers as well as many scientists have different opinions on this matter. 

            Even though this argument was addressed by many philosophers, the writings of Descartes were very particular in explaining the mind-body problem. He is also the originator or the mind-body problem. Descartes explores the famous cogito argument which can be summed up to “I think, therefore I am” In Meditation II of Descartes’ Meditation of First Philosophy. The conclusion of this problem, according to Descartes, is that the mind and body are two different entities and this type of view is otherwise known as dualism. Dualism separates the mind or soul from the physical body so that when the physical body is no longer present, the mind or soul still exists. 

            In writing the first Meditation, Descartes strips away all of this knowledge and all of his beliefs and tries to construct them from the ground up. He first started out with skeptical arguments including the basics of his senses and how he knows he even can trust them. Descartes comes to the conclusion that senses in fact can be deceiving but only when the image is either small or in the distance. Since his senses only deceive him sometimes, Descartes concludes that his senses do not stand in the way of his beliefs. He knows that he is sane so he can trust his beliefs without questioning his sanity. The First Meditation also questions his beliefs based on the state of dreaming. When a person is dreaming, he may believe everything in his dreams is actually happening and it is difficult to distinguish the reality. Yet once the person is awake, he can distinguish the difference between his dreams and reality. This way, Descartes still can accept his beliefs. Next, Descartes questions that if God created him then God can alter his beliefs and that everything can be doubted. With this in mind, he is lead to question if it is possible for an “evil genius” to alter his beliefs and how this “evil genius” can deceive all of his beliefs. In the Second Meditation, in which took place the next day, Descartes questions if he exists, the mind-body problem, as well as the idea of God.

            Descartes subtitled Meditation II, “Of the Nature of the Human Mind; and that it is more easily known than the Body”. His main point of his cogito argument lies in the statement, “So that after having reflected well and carefully examined all things, we must come to the definite conclusion that this proposition: I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that I mentally conceive it” (Mediation of First Philosophy, 10).  The argument can be broken down to “I am thinking, therefore I exist”. There are a few reasons as to why Descartes’ comes up to this conclusion.

            The first connects to the First Meditation regarding this senses and the argument can be looked at as 1. I deny that I have body and senses; 2. If I deny that I have body and senses, then I exist; and 3. Therefore, I exist. Since Descartes already concluded that he can trust his senses from the first meditation, he has no trouble recognizing his existence based on his senses. Another conclusion to the Cogito Argument is also connected to the First Meditation and this can be put into 1. I am persuaded that there is nothing in the world. If I am persuaded that there is nothing in the world, then I exist. Therefore, I exist. This can be connected to the question of God in the First Meditation.

            Another one of the reasons to this conclusion is that he was misled into believing that he cannot exist and since he was able to be misled, he has to exist. This version of the argument connects to the “evil genius” concept and can be broken down to 1. I am deceived by something; 2. If I am deceived by something, then I exist; 3. Therefore I exist. In addition, another reason for Descartes’ argument is that since he is thinking of his existence and has knowledge that he is a thing that thinks, therefore “I” do exist because Descartes’ is able to think that he exists. In other words 1. I think that I am something; 2. If I think that I am something, then I exist; 3. Therefore, I exist. This meditation concludes that for as along as he thinks, he will exist.

            To further explain his stance on the mind-body problem, Descartes gives the wax argument. He writes his observations with an example of wax; first he defines the wax by his senses. When he was changes form, if it melts, the senses change as well but the actual wax is still the same substance. Because Descartes thinks that he sees wax, he concludes that he is a thinking thing and that he distinguishes the wax with his intellect and not only his senses. His senses see the wax in different form so that it actually looks like two different things. However, Descartes points out that he is able to comprehend that it is the same substance, just in different form. This argument can be put into 1. I think that I see wax; 2. If I think I see wax, then I exist; 3. Therefore I exist.

            Along his work, Descartes also published Objections and Replies to his arguments. Here, he submits all the objections that other philosophers have for his theories. As for the objections to Descartes’ cogito argument, fifth objective (Gassendi, 259) states that Descartes did not need to question his existence because he can know that he exists solely from his actions. Descartes replies that he indeed had to question his existence because the metaphysical certainty can be simply a perception or illusion just like in dreams (Descartes, 352). His explanation of why he questioned his existence is explained by the First Meditation where he questions if his dreams can change his reality concluding that a person is able to differentiate when he was dreaming once he wakes up.

            The sixth objection (Mersenne, 413) questions thinking in general since Descartes did not define what thinking is or what existence is. This objection makes a point that Descartes does not know what thinking is and so cannot truly know that he is thinking and therefore disproves his argument that this is the reason for his existence. Descartes replies to this objection that it is innate knowledge that a person knows that he thinks and knows that he exists (Descartes, 423-425). This type of knowledge does not need to be questioned because it is a universal agreement and this is why Descartes does not question either.

            The third objection (Hobbes, 173), states that Descartes fails to separate the subject from its action. Descartes replies that what he meant by these actions is just the thought of these actions which are in himself. Therefore, he did not feel the need to make the distinction.

            In the fifth objection (Gassendi, 276-277), there is also a dispute about Descartes objectifying himself as a thing that thinks. Yet, the word ‘thing’ that Descartes uses is very general and suggests to explain how Descartes is a ‘thing’ that is different from a ‘thing’ such as spirits. Further, the objection suggests to examine what the human mind is made up of to prove of its existence. Descartes replies to this objection with the example of wax in correspondence to how the human mind examines it. He concludes that we already know the nature of the human mind because of all the things that it helps us understand.

            Even though this argument can be traced back to the 17th century, the mind-body argument is essential to many of the beliefs we have today. The mind-body problem starts off by analyzing the reasons as to why we should believe our senses and how they connect to our body. This is why the First Meditation by Descartes was about skepticism. Later, after Descartes accepts that he can accept his beliefs based on his senses, he acknowledges how his mind actually works and that he himself exists. This conclusion helps understand as to why Descartes believes in dualism. 

            This argument is very important to almost all religions. For example, many western religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe that after death of the physical body, the soul still lives on. Therefore, many religions believe in dualism. Many atheists, who do not believe in God, do not believe that humans still exist after they pass away. This type of belief incorporates the mind and body as one.

            The way Descartes comes to his conclusions is through deduction. He explains how he reaches the conclusion to his first premise by the First Meditation. However, Descartes fails to properly explain why we should accept “whatever thinks exists”. This type of reasoning can easily be disregarded with the “evil genius” theory. The “evil genius” can cause intuition which also disregards his wax example. Therefore, Descartes’ Cogito argument is not fully concluded and has some error which he did not fully explain. He was the one that even mentioned the “evil genius” yet never fully explained as to why we should not be concerned about it.

            The Cogito Argument is an important part of philosophy that can still be argued about today. Many have also chosen one of the two different sides of the argument and base many of their life’s choices on their beliefs. Although there is no certainty which of the two sides a person should believe, it is up to them to decide if Descartes was convincing enough in the Meditation. 

Resources:

1.  Descartes - Objections & Replies

2.  Descartes, Rene. Meditations of First Philosophy. 2002 Black mask Online. Retrieved from http://www.vahidnab.com/med.pdf