Descartes & Materialism

What method did Descartes use to establish his dualism? :

Hyperbolic (extreme) doubt in his Meditations, rejecting his senses and the physical world to find an undeniable foundation for absolute knowledge.

Explain Descartes' famous phrase: Cogito, ergo sum. : "I think, therefore I am." Even if a demon tricks his senses, the very act of doubting proves he exists as a thinking thing (res cogitans).

"I think, therefore I am." Even if a demon tricks his senses, the very act of doubting proves he exists as a thinking thing (res cogitans).

Explain Descartes’ Argument from Doubt (Divisibility Argument). : The body can be doubted and is divisible; the mind cannot be doubted and is indivisible. By Leibniz's Law, they share different properties and must be distinct substances.

The body can be doubted and is divisible; the mind cannot be doubted and is indivisible. By Leibniz's Law, they share different properties and must be distinct substances.

Explain Descartes' Argument from Clear and Distinct Ideas. :

God can create anything I clearly conceive. I can clearly conceive of my mind existing without my physical body, so God can separate them, proving they are distinct.

How did Descartes solve the Mind-Body Interaction Problem? :

The Pineal Gland. He claimed this small organ in the center of the brain was the seat of the soul where the immaterial mind interacts with physical nerves.

What is the Masked Man Fallacy criticism against Descartes? :

Intended to attack the Argument from Doubt. Just because I can doubt the identity of a masked robber (or my body) does not change the objective reality of who they are.

Why is the Pineal Gland solution scientifically rejected? :

It violates the laws of physics. It fails to explain how a non-physical entity can apply physical force to matter, violating the law of conservation of energy.

What is the "Homunculus Fallacy" regarding Cartesian Dualism?

: An infinite regress of control. If an inner soul processes brain data like a person watching a movie, you need an inner brain inside that soul to process it, creating an endless loop.

What is the core definition of Hard Materialism (Physicalism)? : Monism.

Only physical matter exists; the mind is directly identical to brain activity, meaning there is no soul and life after death is impossible.

Explain Richard Dawkins’ distinction between Soul One and Soul Two.

Soul One is the traditional, supernatural soul that survives death (which he rejects). Soul Two is a metaphor for human consciousness, deep feeling, and scientific imagination.

What is Identity Theory (Reductive Physicalism)? :

The view that mental events are directly identical to physical brain states. For example, the feeling of pain is literally just the firing of C-fibres.

How does modern neuroscience support Materialism? :

Evidence from brain damage. Phineas Gage’s personality changed completely after an iron rod pierced his frontal lobe, showing that physical brain damage directly alters the mind.

Explain B.F. Skinner’s Behaviourism. :

The view that mental states are just shorthand descriptions for physical behaviours. Being "sad" is not an inner spiritual state; it is just the physical act of crying or slouching.

What is a major criticism of Behaviourism? :

It ignores subjective internal experience. A person can experience intense agony internally while choosing to show no outward behaviour (such as a Stoic), so mental states cannot be reduced to movement.

Explain Frank Jackson’s Mary’s Room argument against Physicalism. :

Mary knows every physical fact about colour but lives in a black-and-white room. When she leaves, she learns something new: the subjective feeling (qualia) of seeing red, proving physicalism is false.

What is the "Hard Problem of Consciousness" (David Chalmers)? :

The problem of explaining why and how physical brain processes produce subjective, inner experiences. Why does brain chemistry feel like anything at all from a first-person perspective?