How Human Body and Human Mind Interact - Essay Example

In the dream argument, Rene Descartes argued that all knowledge derived from sense can be doubted because it is not possible to differentiate the experiences that we have while awake, and the experiences that we have while dreaming; for Descartes, it is possible that we are dreaming while thinking that we are awake. For this reason, therefore, the doubts that Descartes suggests in the dream argument are different and more extreme than the doubts that Descartes suggests in the senses argument; while in the sense argument, Descartes argues that it is only some knowledge derived from the senses that can be doubted, in the dream argument Descartes argued and demonstrated that all sensory knowledge can be doubted.

The evil demon argument is more extreme than either the sense of the dream argument. This is because, first, while the sense argument suggests that it is only some types of sensory knowledge that can be doubted, the evil demon argument suggests and demonstrate that all sensory knowledge can be doubted. Secondly, while the dream argument demonstrates that sensory knowledge can be doubted, it can reasonably be objected that some simple truths like the truths of mathematics and geometry cannot be doubted; on the other hand, the evil demon argument suggests that even the truths of mathematics and geometry can be doubted because these truths may be nothing but deceptions of an evil genius.

While the evil demon argument can deceive Descartes in all his beliefs, the evil demon, however, cannot deceive Descartes into believing that he doesn’t exist. This is because, for Descartes, existence is a pre-condition of doubting; according to Descartes, one should exist before doubting. For this reason, Descartes argued that, since he is able to doubt, this means that he exists. Descartes, therefore, concluded that the evil demon cannot deceive him into believing that he doesn’t exist.

The main difficulty for Descartes’ philosophical project is accounting for how the human body and the human mind interact. In giving an explanation to how the human mind and human body interact, Descartes argued that the human mind and the human body interact at the pituitary gland. This explanation by Descartes, however, is problematic because it does not sufficiently explain how an extended body can interact with a spiritual or with an unextended mind.