Explain and Evaluate the Theory of Mind

Question: 1.Explain and Evaluate the Theory of Mind known as "Cartesian Dualism." Answer: Introduction Philosophical position defines particular set of beliefs, which can explain either the general philosophy or specific division of philosophy (Ekanem et al. 501). This study will focus on Cartesian Dualism philosophy. Moreover, the study will explain two different philosophical positions and their philosophical concepts. The study will critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the philosophies. Moreover, it will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both Cartesian Dualism position and one another defined position. Apart from that, the study will also describe a personal position defending against Cartesian Dualism and explain the impact of personal position in personal life and society. Discussion Philosophical position is the set of belief, which accounts for the general philosophy or any specific branch of philosophy. It is the set of belief, which makes a particular statement either true of false. Cartesian Dualism reflects on the mental phenomenal era and it states that mind and body of the human beings are not identical. According to Holtzman (293), dualism philosophy held that material body and immaterial mind of human beings are completely different substances and they interrelate with each other. ReneDescartes, the inventor of this philosophy also reasoned that the material body could be separated into legs or arms, but the soul or mind was inseparable. Furthermore, Grne-Yanoff (115) pointed out that dualismreflects the view about the relationship between subject and object and mind and matter. Moreover, it can be related to the mind-body related issues of human life. As per Lanigan (349), the body and mind are two distinctive substances, but have mutual influence. Moreover, the casualty of mind affects the body and the casualty of body affects the mind. The qualities of experience differ extensively from the qualities of material bodies. On the other hand, epistemology philosophical position analyzes the nature of knowledge and its relations with the similar notions such as belief, truth and justification. It defines that knowledge is the understanding and awareness of the particular aspect of reality. It is clear from the philosophy that lucid information are gained through the practice of reasons applied in reality. According to Maloney (7), this traditional philosophy believes in the fact that knowledge needs three essential and sufficient conditions towards being defined as "justified true belief". This philosophy suggests that false proposition cannot be set as knowledge and therefore, there must be truth in the proposition. Furthermore, if one cannot know something, he cannot believe in that particular statement. Moreover, justification condition opposes the state of believing in something, which is simply a matter of luck. As per Chuang (121), the main idea of this philosophical position is that the knowledge is actually gathered through practical evidences. While considering the strength of Cartesian Dualism, it can be said that this philosophy is best for understanding the bonding between the immaterial mind and material soul. According to Ramose (391), this philosophy can provide physical or material world to the sciences and allow theology with the spiritual and mental aspects of human beings. Furthermore, Ramiz (305) stated that while motions of the mechanistic world of bodies are ruled completely by mathematically expressed laws, the behaviors of the bodies are completely determined by these laws. This position is can be best applied in determining the mind body related problems. On the other hand, while considering the strength of Epistemology philosophical position, it can be said that this position highly focuses on the truth and justification of the knowledge. According to Grne-Yanoff (115), this position offers lesser scope of erroneous knowledge and therefore, leads to justified and useful information. Furthermore, Maloney (7) opined that people can be much more beneficial through relying of Epistemology philosophy. In order to face dynamic world, it is better to look into the continuum of the individuals than to believe in sets of ideologies. While considering the weakness of Cartesian Dualism, it can be said that there is lack of use of brain in justifying any statement. Ramose (391) opined that, the lack of rational understanding can leads to belief in supernatural things. Furthermore, the lack of truth in the statement can lead to misleading situation in some extents. On the other hand, while considering the weakness of Epistemology position, it can be said that subjective experience of the knowledge and its justification can always create some conflicting situation. Holtzman (293) pointed out that this mechanistic philosophy can also lead to needlessly complex situation towards believing in a particular statement. While dealing with the practical situation of my life, I have created by personal position, which is defended against the Cartesian Dualism. The assumption behind my position is that in some situation, there is no interrelation between the mind and body. It opposes the view of Cartesian Dualism position, where mind and body are mutually influential. The main assumption behind my philosophical position is that people need to apply their brain independently towards facing some critical issues. Moreover, there is less influence of mind with the body for facing critical situation. Furthermore, my position has impacted me in gaining confidence towards dealing with significant social issues. I became able to take some effective decisions towards removing some social issues by employing my brain practically without the influence of mind. In this way, my position is also influential on the society. Conclusion While concluding the study, it can be said that Cartesian Dualism philosophical position relies on the belief that mind and body are completely different substances. However, these two substances are highly influential on each other. It is highly effective in dealing with mind body related problems. However, the lack of evidence based knowledge can lead to misleading situation. On the other hand, epistemology position always believes in gathering knowledge based on proper evidences. Therefore, epistemology position can be used in more critical situation. However, it is highly complex and mechanistic in gathering some knowledge and justifying a particular statement. While dealing with practical situation, I use the position that believes in not interrelationship between the body and mind. References Chuang, Yung-Ting. "A teaching philosophy that utilizes instructional technologies to improve learning motivation."The International Journal of E-Learning and Educational Technologies in the Digital Media1.2 (2015): 121-132. Ekanem, Samuel Asuquo, and Ekeng Nyong Ekefre. "The Importance of Philosophy in Educational Administration/Management: The Democratic Model."Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences5.9 (2014): 501. Grne-Yanoff, Till. "Teaching philosophy of science to scientists: why, what and how."European Journal for Philosophy of Science4.1 (2014): 115-134. Holtzman, Geoffrey S. "Rejecting Beliefs, or Rejecting Believers? On the Importance and Exclusion of Women in Philosophy."Hypatia31.2 (2016): 293-312. Lanigan, Richard L. "Philosophy of Communicology:Discourse Which Expresses Itself Is Communication."Review of Communication15.4 (2015): 349-358. Maloney, Catherine. "From Epistemic Responsibility to Ecological Thinking: The Importance of Advocacy for Epistemic Community."Feminist Philosophy Quarterly2.2 (2016): 7. Ramiz, Refet. "New Perspective for the Philosophy: Re-Construction Definition of the New Branches of Philosophy."Philosophy6.6 (2016): 305-336. Ramose, Mogobe B. "Introduction: Contrasts and contests about philosophy."South African Journal of Philosophy= Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Wysbegeerte34.4 (2015): 391-394.