The traditional mind-body problem is intractable: what is the ontological nature of the mind (is ... more The traditional mind-body problem is intractable: what is the ontological nature of the mind (is it physical or non-physical?), and consequently, how is the mind metaphysically related to the physical body? Dualism and materialism, two being competing views, strive to address this problem on different grounds. Dualism is the view that the mind is ontologically distinct from the body originated: the mind is non-physical, and body, physical. Materialism is the position that, in opposition to dualism, the mind is physical, wherefore the mind is identical to the body. While dualism and materialism are attractive, each of them has its own problems, sadly. Dualism fails because non-physical things are not needed to explain physical events; physical causes sufficiently explain physical events. Materialism fails because the body does not determine the mind; two physically identical things can be mentally different. Given these problems, it seems hopeless that the mind-body problem could be solved someday.
In the Optics, Descartes notes the following problem in his theory of sensations: How does the br... more In the Optics, Descartes notes the following problem in his theory of sensations: How does the brain cause the mind to have sensory ideas? 1 Descartes's lack of clarity about the causal connection leads several commentators (e.g., Jonathan Bennett and Desmond Clarke) to conclude that it is not possible to make sense of the causal connection in Cartesian sensations.
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