StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle - Speech or Presentation Example

Cite this document
Summary
John Searle: Welcome, Sir Rene Descartes. I went through your work Meditations on First Philosophy, but I do not agree with your theory of dualism because you say that mind and body are different entities. It is impossible to prove because mind is unreal.
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.7% of users find it useful
Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle"

Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle John Searle: Welcome, Sir Rene Descartes. I went through your work Meditations on First Philosophy, but I do not agree with your theory of dualism because you say that mind and body are different entities. It is impossible to prove because mind is unreal. Rene Descartes: John Searle, my argument is based upon my thoughts. I am thinking, so I exist. See, my thought or the process of thinking proves that I am real and I exist. Why you people consider mind and body as a single unit?

How can you prove that mind and body are same? I can prove that mind and body are different entities. At the same time, mind and body influence each other. Searle: We need not ponder upon the term ‘mind’ because it does not exist and it is unreal. Sir, you pointed out that mind and body influence each other. At the same time, why don’t you consider that mind is the part of body? I think the study of mind needs a satisfactory conclusion because we are arguing upon an imaginary thing without proof.

When you say that the process of though proves the existence of mind, why can’t you say that the same process of thought proves that thought is an inseparable part of brain, which is real? Descartes: For the sake of argument, please think that you do not exist in this world. You cannot prove your argument because you are real. From a different angle of view, your thought or argument is totally against your existence. To be specific, your argument that you are unreal (say, your imagination based upon your mind) proves that you are thinking.

At the same time, you are totally aware of the fact that you are not unreal because your physical body is here. So, your thought is an inseparable part of your brain but it does not prove that your mind and body are same. Searle: Our thought is similar to a system, which can be defined as a complex information processing unit, strictly limited to rules. So, how can we prove that this inseparable information processing unit within our body can be separated? When one undergoes biological death, one’s thought process comes to an end.

This proves that there is nothing called mind. So it cannot be separated from our body. We cannot separate the process of thought or consciousness from our physical body. Descartes: Once again I am asking you to imagine that you are unreal. Then, you doubt your physical existence. At the same time, you are aware of the fact that your thought is unreal because you are thinking or imagining. Descartes (2005), states that “From this is quite clear that, notwithstanding the supreme goodness of God, the nature of man, inasmuch as it is composed of mind and body, cannot be otherwise than sometimes a source of deception” ( p.77). This proves that you cannot deny your consciousness or the complex functioning of your mind.

In this way, you can see that you can separate your conscious mind from your body. At the same time you cannot deny the presence of your mind which is far away from your physical presence. Searle: Ok. Your argument is clear. Why don’t you consider that mind and body as a single unit or mind as an integral part of body? Sir, you did point out that imagination based upon one’s inexistence proves that one can separate one’s mind from one’s body. This argument is clear but it cannot be proved.

When we are not sleeping our consciousness is in full swing. But when we sleep, we become unaware of the existence of our consciousness. If our thought can be separated from our body, we can separate the same from our brain. But it is impossible to do so. When we are awake, we are aware of our emotions and feelings. Imagine that you are dreaming. Then you can feel the same emotions and feelings because consciousness is not separated from your body. When you dream about pain, you can feel pain but it is not real.

When you wake up, you realize that pain is unreal. So, mind (consciousness) is not independent of human body. Besides, mind can be defined as electrical waves produced by human brain. Descartes: See, Mr. John Searle, human mind (soul) and human body are different entities. At the same time both mind and body depends each other because human mind is an immaterial thing and human body is material. For instance, we feel pain because it leads to voluntary movement or reflex action. This proves that body and mind are different but can function as a single unit.

At the same time, mind (soul) can have its own existence apart from body because human mind (soul) controls the human body. Searle: Sir Rene Descartes, we can wind up this debate by attaining a conclusion that body is controlled by mind (consciousness) but the independence of mind beyond body (say, duality of body and consciousness (mind)) is still unresolved. Thank you for participating in this debate. Descartes: Mr. John Searle, you are most welcome. Besides, your arguments lead me towards new ideas on the link between mind (say, soul) and body, especially the mind’s control over the body.

References Descartes, R. (2005). Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Stilwell: Digireads.com Publishing.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle Speech or Presentation”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1430060-debate-from-the-point-of-view-of-descartes-and
(Debate from the Point of View of Descartes and Searle Speech or Presentation)
https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1430060-debate-from-the-point-of-view-of-descartes-and.
“Debate from the Point of View of Descartes and Searle Speech or Presentation”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1430060-debate-from-the-point-of-view-of-descartes-and.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle

Renee Descartes and his Substance Dualism

This paper ''Renee descartes and his Substance Dualism'' tells that According to Renee Descartes, the subject of substance dualism implicitly rests on the presupposition that the essence of the mind is in thought while the body is an extension, this implies a duality of essences correspondent to a duality of substances.... Concisely, Descartes is trying to make the point that the mind and body are two entirely different entities each set for its purr; the mind is a thinking thing that exists in the abstract devoid of physical attributes such as size shape color while the body is a non-thinking thing that is bound and limited by the laws of physics....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Analyi and upport of Jacque Derrida' Work

hellip; Writing and Difference waѕ firѕt publiѕhed in 1967, and it containѕ collection of eѕѕayѕ written by thiѕ author from 1959 to 1966.... The ѕecond half containѕ Derrida'ѕ intelligent analyѕiѕ ѕhowing how and why metaphyѕical thinking muѕt exclude writing from itѕ conception of language.... from Reѕtricted to General Economy: A Hegelianiѕm without Reѕerve 10....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Dualism by Plato and Descartes

hellip; Descarte's Cartesian dualism separates mind from the soul.... nbsp;Plato differs from Descartes in a manner that he held that soul can think better when it is separated from the body.... escarte's Cartesian dualism separates mind from the soul.... lato differs from Descartes in a manner that he held that soul can think better when it is separated from the body.... Whereas for Descartes, soul has to be integrated with the body for it to function while Plato thought that the soul ought to be separated from the body so that it can think better....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Philosophy of Rene Descartes

This entitlement can be attributed to both a move from the conventional scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy and the projection and spread of the contemporary mechanistic sciences for which Descartes made effort.... escartes deviated from the scholastic philosophies in two ways.... descartes was born in the year 1595 and died in 1650 (“Rene descartes”).... In his short life of 55 years, descartes has produced a number of publications including Les Passions de… The last three centuries have been greatly inspired by descartes's opinions of certainty, knowledge, and the link between mind and body....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Purpose of and Philosophy behind Descartes Method of Doubt

The prime goal of descartes is to build a safe foundation for the philosophy.... Most of descartes's writings belong to the period when the modern science was starting to advance, and Descartes was of the opinion that the scientists had a very subjective idea of how to advance in their urge to create knowledge.... An in-depth analysis of descartes's philosophy suggests that he has very much played the role of a religious zealot on his time.... descartes's Method of Doubt does not challenge the existence of knowledge, but it enables descartes to reach a conclusion that cannot be criticized....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The solutions to the body and mind problem

Rene descartes is known for a number of his philosophical thesis and discourse but one of the most controversial and most discussed theses is the theory of the mind and bod.... According to descartes, the mind and the body are very distinct in their nature, interactions and functions in the body based on his dualism theory.... … descartes argues that the nature of the mind is completely different from that of the body this makes it possible for an individual to actively exist without an interaction of the entities....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Descartes Views

The writer of the paper “descartes Views” states that it was opined by descartes that animals are akin to machines and that this conjecture was vindicated by the fact that animals are excellent only is specific tasks as opposed to the capability of humans who are in general able to cope up with any task.... hellip; René descartes was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician; he is at times referred to as the father of modern philosophy....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

Questions and Problems Related to the Study of Consciousness

Jaynes's theory will be discussed in greater detail later, but it presents a tantalizing theoretical starting point for the history of the study of consciousness.... n the late seventeenth century, John Locke initiated the modern debate on consciousness, postulating in accordance with the principles of empiricism, that the mind is comparable to a blank page, a space with free-floating ideas, and copies of experiences (Jaynes 1986)....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us