Running head: MIND/BODY PROBLEMMind/Body Problem in PhilosophyHarmony RoblesUniversity of PhoenixMind/Body Problem in PhilosophyThe mind/body problem in philosophy revolves around the argument of the relationship the mind has to the body and the different ways that the mind is defined. Different perspectives have developed over the years about the relationship the mind and the body share.
Some people believe that the mind and body are one and that the mind is just a part of the body. Other people believe that the mind and the body are two separate entities. To support the arguments of the various perspectives the realm of mind and consciousness began being discussed in philosophy. People questioned the extent to which the mind related to the physical body. The main perspectives on the relationship between the mind and the body are dualism, materialism, and subjective idealism.
Materialism consists of those people who believed that the mind and body were one. Dualism is comprised of those people who believed the mind and body were separate from one another as opposed to the mind simply being a part of the body making the two just one. Subjective idealism, or immaterialism, differs from materialism and dualism in that followers of this perspective believe that there the only reality is what one perceives (Goodwin, 2005). Rene Descartes is probably the best-known dualist. He believed the mind and body were two separate, distinct entities but that both worked and had an influence on the other.
Descartes also practiced a form of dualism called Cartesian dichotomy. This form of dualism states that animals and humans are separate especially when speaking of the mind and body. Descartes believed that animals did not have a mind like humans due to animals being incapable of human language abilities and reasoning. He argued that because humans possessed a body and the abilities of language and reasoning they also had a mind, and because he.
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