DESCARTES - MIND

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>DESCARTES</FONT><BR> THE RATIONALIST</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>Mind over Matter</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>DUALISM - MIND AND MATTER</B></FONT><BR> By using his "thinking being" as the foundation for all further conclusions, Descartes makes clear distinction between the thinking substance that distinguishes him as a man and the matter that makes up the physical universe including his own body. Descartes defines this matter in terms of two properties only - extension is space (length, breadth, depth) and motion. All other apparent properties depend on the perceiver and are the result of the impact of physical objects on the sense organs.<P> One of the reasons Descartes supposed his mind to be essentially non-physical (incorporeal) is that he found himself able to doubt the existence of all physical objects (even his own body) but was unable to doubt himself as a thinking being. Descartes also argued that, in contrast to the physical world, the mind was an indivisible unit.<P> <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=1 bgcolor="ffffee"> <TR> <TD><CENTER><FONT SIZE=4><B>PROPERTIES OF MATTER</B></FONT><P> Consider a piece of wax of a certain shape, size, colour. I melt it. Reason tells me it is the same piece of wax, but its shape, size, colour and various other properties - those perceived by the senses - have altered. Only the objective properties of the matter itself remain unaltered. It is still extended in space and is changeable.</CENTER><P> </TD> </TR> </TABLE><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>INTERACTION BETWEEN MIND AND BODY</B></FONT><P> <TABLE ALIGN=Left BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=1> <TR> <TD><IMG ALIGN=Left SRC="1107a.jpg" WIDTH="115" HEIGHT="150" ALT="pineal"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> Even Descartes realised that mind and body could not operate in isolation. I put my hand on a hot object. A physical change, change in temperature, results in a mental change - pain. A thought such as "I'd better move my hand away" in turn results in a physical change - the hand moves. Descartes describes the body and mind as "intermingling" to form an apparent unit. Descartes even went so far as to identify the precise place in the body where interaction occurs as the pineal gland.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>"I am not merely lodged with my body like a sailor in a ship, but am very closely united, and as it were intermingled with it."<P> ("Meditations" VI)</BLOCKQUOTE> <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>