Dualism vs Physicialism
Philosophy Paper
11/19/13
Property Dualism
Throughout the medical field, the theory of the mind has an important impact on how medicine is practiced in society. How a physician diagnoses and treats patients will affect the overall health that the patients receive. There are two different theories that I will be assessing in this paper, dualism and physicalism. In this paper, I argue that a physician should have the theory of property dualism, that the mind and body are two different units acting together. In order to best treat patients in medicine, dualism is essential for the best possible care. First, I will identify the meaning of property dualism and physicialsim by looking at the arguments of Switankowsky supporting why physicians should adopt dualism, and show examples. After that, I will show the counterargument of Forstmann et al on physicialsim.
Dualism is the presumption proposed by Descartes that the human mind and the body are two distinct entities that interact with each other to make a person. Descartes argued that the mind and body communicated with each other through a small structure at the base of the brain called the pineal gland. Reality for dualists is divided into a physical natural world and a non-physical supernatural world. Humans have a theoretical foot in each camp, so to speak — a physical body attached to the natural world and a temporarily-housed spirit that wants to be reunited with the supernatural. Property dualism claims that there is only one kind of substance, material substance. There are however two different kinds of properties, physical properties and mental properties. The mental properties in this view cannot be reduced to physical states. Importantly, the mental properties are able to produce an effect on the physical states of one’s body (eg., generate movement).
Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, there are
11/19/13
Property Dualism
Throughout the medical field, the theory of the mind has an important impact on how medicine is practiced in society. How a physician diagnoses and treats patients will affect the overall health that the patients receive. There are two different theories that I will be assessing in this paper, dualism and physicalism. In this paper, I argue that a physician should have the theory of property dualism, that the mind and body are two different units acting together. In order to best treat patients in medicine, dualism is essential for the best possible care. First, I will identify the meaning of property dualism and physicialsim by looking at the arguments of Switankowsky supporting why physicians should adopt dualism, and show examples. After that, I will show the counterargument of Forstmann et al on physicialsim.
Dualism is the presumption proposed by Descartes that the human mind and the body are two distinct entities that interact with each other to make a person. Descartes argued that the mind and body communicated with each other through a small structure at the base of the brain called the pineal gland. Reality for dualists is divided into a physical natural world and a non-physical supernatural world. Humans have a theoretical foot in each camp, so to speak — a physical body attached to the natural world and a temporarily-housed spirit that wants to be reunited with the supernatural. Property dualism claims that there is only one kind of substance, material substance. There are however two different kinds of properties, physical properties and mental properties. The mental properties in this view cannot be reduced to physical states. Importantly, the mental properties are able to produce an effect on the physical states of one’s body (eg., generate movement).
Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, there are
References: Forstmann, Matthias, Pascal Burgmer, and Thomas Mussweiler. "“The Mind Is Willing, but the Flesh Is Weak”: The Effects of Mind-Body Dualism on Health Behavior."Psychological Science 23.10 (2012): 1239-245. 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Switankowsky, Irene. "Dualism and Its Importance for Medicine." Theoretical Medicine 21 (2000): 567-80. Print.