Book chapter
Mind-Body Problems
The Routledge Companion to Seventeenth Century Philosophy, pp.253-286
Routledge, 1
2018
DOI: 10.4324/9781315771960-9
Abstract
There are a number of interlocking themes in the seventeenth-century discussion of the relationship between mind and body. A number of ancient and medieval philosophers subscribed to the view that minds are more exalted than bodies. Minds are the most perfect kind of thing, and so if a benevolent and omnipotent being would create the finest universe possible, bodies would presumably be left out of the mix. In the Sixth Meditation argument, Rene Descartes has already made a lot of epistemic progress in the Meditations and so has done the philosophical and conceptual footwork that allows him to recognize that minds are immaterial substances. A critical juncture in the thinking of seventeenth century philosophers is the question of mind-body union and interaction. Some philosophers embrace the view that if minds and bodies are united and come into contact then both must be material.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Mind-Body Problems
- Creators
- David Cunning
- Contributors
- Dan Kaufman (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- The Routledge Companion to Seventeenth Century Philosophy, pp.253-286
- Edition
- 1
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781315771960-9
- Alternative title
- Mind-Body Problems
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2018
- Academic Unit
- Philosophy
- Record Identifier
- 9984397183702771
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