Studied by 6 people
what is substance dualism
the claim that both minds and bodies exist, so the mind is an ontologically distinct substance
in traditional dualism, what are the two types of substances that exist
mental and physical
what form of substance dualism is defended by Descartes, and what does it claim
cartesian dualism, minds are not dependent on bodies
what are the very different essential properties Descartes claims the mind and body have
thought and extension
how does descartes understand the minds essential property of thought
through consciousness and Intentionality
how does Descartes use the different properties he claims to show the mind and body are separate
if they were the same thing they would have the same properties
how did Liebniz later formalise Descartes claim
if two things are identical then they share all their properties because one thing cannot have different properties from itself
what did leibniz call his claim
the principle of indiscernibility of identicals
why can the mind not have extension, according to Descartes
it has no parts that can be divided - it is something single and complete
unlike the mind, what has extension (e.g. it can be divided into parts)
the body
what could be used as evidence that the mind does have parts and can be divided
mental illnesses such as multiple personality syndrome, theories of unconsciousness
how could descartes respond to the argument that the mind is dividible (e.g. via mental illnesses)
the kind of divisibility is completely different from physical division
could you possibly undermine the idea that physical objects are divisible
yes, atoms
as there are some physical things which aren’t divisible (e.g. force fields) what does this mean for the mind
that its indivisibility does not entail that it isn’t physical
what does Descartes assume in his argument
that the mind is a substance, just not a physical one
what instead could we claim the mind is
just mental properties, rather than a substance
are properties generally divisible (makes sense with our understanding of the mind)
no
what does Descartes need to show in order for his argument to work
that the mind is a substance
Note 
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