Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Descartes and the Mind-Body Distinctness. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page examination of Descartes’ argument that the body and the mind are interrelated yet independent units. The author reviews the six Steps utilized by Descartes to make this demonstration. The contention is presented that these Steps are not only interrelated among themselves but interrelated to Descartes’ Meditations as a whole. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AM2_PPdesca3.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
view on the distinction of the human mind and body, the view that the body is a separate entity from the mind, have captivated the minds of philosophers for generations.
Descartes provided specific steps though which he justifies his belief that while he (and humans in general) is(are) a complete entity, a "thinking thing" (as he clarifies in step
1), that entity is composed of two separate parts, the body and the mind. Descartes discourse on this matter is immersed in his characteristic skepticism which seeks to
differentiate belief from truth, his "Method of Doubt". Utilizing the same premises delineated in his "Method of Doubt" Descartes seeks to resolve the question of whether his beliefs on
the separation of body and mind are indeed just beliefs or whether there is indeed such a separation. He recognizes, in other words, that it is indeed possible for
him to believe something when in reality it is not true. His "steps" therefore have been formulated to glean out any uncertain beliefs and mere opinions to get to
the basic structure of fact. Descartes first step, that recognizing his completeness as a "thinking thing" sets the stage for each of his
subsequent steps. In Step 2 he delineates his completeness into one of its two parts, the body, and recognizes the body as the non-thinking part of the complete being.
Associated with that delineation, of course, is the premise that if there is a non-thinking component of the individual there must also be a thinking part. It is
this premise upon which the next few steps of Descartes discourse are based. Indeed, in Step 3 Descartes recognizes the possibility that "I myself" can exist independently from this
...