Dualism

Paper Summary:

This paper concerns the philosophy of the mind and attempts to answer the question of whether dualism provides an acceptable account of the mind. In doing so, the fundamental arguments and problems associated with dualism are discussed and analyzed. This paper assesses the plausibility of a number of different forms of dualism such as Descarte's cartesian dualism, property dualism and epiphenomenalism.

From the Paper:

"For centuries, philosophers have debated the ontological problem of the mind. Through introspection, we know that we, and believe others possess a conscious intelligence that has the ability to register emotions, interpret sensations and perform reason. But where do such abilities originate? In what medium do they take place and how is it that our mental phenomena such as desires and beliefs seem to be able to causally act on the physical world? Dualism is just one of many theories that have sought to find answers to such intriguing questions. Unlike materialist theories that optimistically asserts that all mental phenomena can eventually be explained through physics and neurological science, dualists argue that mental phenomena is so far removed from anything physical that it requires the existence of a non-physical entity or property. Since, as yet science is unable to fully explain all mental phenomena such as consciousness, perhaps dualism is a plausible alternative. Is any form of dualism plausible?"

More papers on Dualism:

• Analytical Essay # 133481 : "Mind/Body Dualism"
• Persuasive Essay # 144303 : "Philosophy of Substance Dualism"
• Analytical Essay # 139630 : "Monism and Dualism"
• Term Paper # 141231 : "Descartes Argues Cartesian Dualism"

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