#2 The Mind Body Problem

Cogito Ergo Sum, latin for “I think therefore I am”. In my views this is the most important philosophical idea ever thought of. René Descartes created this phrase after his journey of Skepticism.

I think therefore I am is a complex five words relating to many ideas and have spurred much great thought. My favorite of these philosophical ideas is the idea of a separation between body and mind.

This is known as Cartesian Duality (Can you tell I really like Descartes). Descartes theory states that the body and the mind exist in two separate states. The body resides in a purely physical state and the mind resides in a purely mental state. This brings up the question, If the mind and body exist in two completely separate existences than how do they interact with one another as they clearly do in our world. This is known as the mind body problem.

The problem is if the mind and body exist in entirely separate existence there is no way they should interact with one another. So is there a way Cartesian Dualism could be true if there is no way for them to interact. One idea on this is physicalism.

Physicalism is the belief that the entire existence is physical and everything can be explained by the real world sciences. This would mean all of your emotions, your complex thoughts, even your personality traits can be chalked up to how your neurons fire.

The problem with physicalism is the lack of evidence surrounding the brain having entire control. This leaves the mind body problem wide open and wanting a solution once and for all.