Mind and Body as Conceived by Descartes and Pascal - Case Study Example

Mind and Body as Conceived by Descartes and Pascal Word Count: 2000 Discuss the relationship between mind and body as conceived by any two orall three of Descartes and Pascal. Here a comparison-contrast will be made between Descartes and Pascal according to how they viewed the mind and body. Rene Descartes was, by nature, a dualist. In fact, he created the notion of Cartesian dualism. This was the basic breadth of the mind-body debate which began during the times of Plato and Aristotle and extended long past Descartes’s demise. Cartesian dualism holds that one’s intelligence is a substance that cannot be touched or felt physically. Cartesian dualism focuses on two opposites being able to exist at the same time in space, but coexist peacefully together. This idea does not make a lot of logical sense at first glance, nevertheless, this was Descartes’s legacy. Cartesian dualism exists in the sense that, like the great thinkers Plato and Aristotle who had gone before, he agreed that there should be some uniformity as to how the universe was regulated. Aristotle was a thinker who was more interested in metaphysical concepts, while Plato’s thought was more based on concrete principles of the natural world. While Aristotle described the levels of reality, Plato focused on subjects such as how one could be a virtuous, and therefore “good,” person. Cartesian dualism allows for both the concrete and the supernatural to come into play in order to be recognized together. Thus, in a sense, Cartesian dualism blends the logical-mathematical with verbal intelligence. In contrast, Pascal’s approach towards the mind and body only uses logical-mathematical intelligence. Pascal was a mathematician, so he obviously focused therefore much more on physical reality and concrete and empirical principles. He says, “But in the intuitive mind the principles are found in common use and are before the eyes of everybody” (Pascal, 1660, p. 1). One interesting tidbit is that an argument against dualism is the fact of causal interaction. In other words, Cartesian dualism does not necessarily explain waking moments very well. When one is awake, what does one do? This notion that consciousness is not accounted for, or the persistence of memory, is important as one seeks to find out what underlies the core of these two authors. Rene Descartes, like Pascal to some extent, was a philosopher. They both had different ways of going about their work. Descartes most likely used more indirect means of philosophizing. Meanwhile, Pascal would have been deliberately direct and forthcoming, as a mathematician who drew on his knowledge of the sciences in order to derive his conclusions. The differences between Descartes and Pascal are vast, mainly because Pascal was first and foremost in his heart a scientist. Descartes was at his core, however, a thinker—a logician of the highest quality. This is not to say that Pascal could not have been a deep thinker as well, but rather, he thought about things deeply in a very mathematically logical and formal way. Descartes was the type of philosopher who could make vague abstractions seem as though they were concrete principles. Pascal was more deliberate in his intentions. He sought out to define concepts in concrete terms, did not abide by abstract or vague references, and was an empiricist in that sense. Descartes and Pascal differed about how they viewed the mind and the body. While Descartes thought that the mind was separate from the body, Pascal definitely would have argued that the mind was part of the physical body. Obviously, there are good arguments for and against these two very different views. First of all, Cartesian dualism would argue that the mind and body are completely and totally separate. This is because intelligence comes from a place which cannot be defined. One cannot quarantine the human mind and simply confine it to the body, Descartes would have said. One’s intelligence is totally separate from one’s physical capabilities. For example, if one were paralyzed from the neck down, Descartes could argue that the mind would still be intact. Similarly, someone could be unconscious but their brainwaves could still be functioning. On the flip side of the coin, the person who would be arguing against the dualist—in this case, Pascal—would be able to easily make the reverse of that argument. Someone could be brain-dead but yet kept physically alive on life support. In that case, it would seem that the mind and body definitely would be connected. Thus, definitely Pascal here would make a case for why the mind and the body are most certainly connected. Pascal and Descartes both have some rational arguments that are deserving of serious review and criticism. What, then, are the arguments against each of their cases? In Descartes’s case, the argument against dualism would be actions that would happen within consciousness. Additionally, Descartes does not explain for the rationalism of memories or why they persist. “Descartes quotes himself saying I am, I exist...,” meaning that he sees the mind as a separate entity from the body (Gillespie, 2006, p. 17). In Pascal’s case, the argument against a rational, logical-mathematical approach which would unite the mind and body does not account for the fact that people who are not physically capable of taking care of themselves may still have a good working mind. Thus, both positions are equally deserving of some serious critical thought. Descartes, like many of his philosophical predecessors, thought in abstractions and was able to make difficult philosophical concepts simple by merely breaking them down into manageable pieces. Pascal, however, preferred to make explanations about various aspects of reality complicated and layered with multifaceted aspects of knowledge. In each of these cases, it is obvious that Pascal and Descartes had some serious differences as to the way each of them thought. For Descartes, he truly believed that dualism existed. For Pascal, dualism was an impossibility. Descartes believed that the mind and the body could exist solely apart from one another, but at the same time, on the same plane. Pascal believed that the mind and the body had to exist together at the same time. These are the fundamental differences between these two armchair philosophers. Since Descartes believed in the power of the mind and intelligence, he was a deep thinker. Meanwhile, although Pascal did believe in the power of the mind, his focus was more on the physical, and the reality of the body. The body is something concrete, and empirical in the sense that its functions can be measured and regulated. Thus, Descartes was more of a person interested in the mind. Pascal was more interested in how the body worked. Descartes had a deep need to be recognized as a thinker who was worthy of his salt. Meanwhile, Pascal, not so much, needed to be validated as a thinker. Rather, Pascal wanted to be validated as a mathematician and someone who championed the physical body and its attributes. Descartes was mainly interested in seeing peoples’ intelligence and philosophies being brought to light when they had very good ideas. Descartes’s dualism was primarily concerned with the existence or being and non-being existing simultaneously. This requires some suspension of disbelief, the which that Blaise Pascal probably didn’t have. Additionally, Descartes did not distinguish from consciousness in waking life and consciousness in sleep. I see so manifestly that there are no certain indications by which we may clearly distinguish wakefulness from sleep” (“Rene Descartes, 2010, p. 1). Descartes is not exactly clear on the connection between mind and body, but we can deduce from his work that he did not think they were related. “In effect, Descartes did not say how the mind and body were united…” (“Cartesian Dualism and the Union of Mind and Body,” 2010, p. 1). Pascal could clearly distinguish between the thought process and separate that out from himself; not so with Descartes, who believed that what he thought made who he was. “[Thought] alone cannot be separated from me” (Rene Descartes, 2010, p. 1). Pascal was primarily concerned with the differences between the intuitive mind and the mathematical mind. In some ways, this would have been the difference between Descartes and Pascal. Descartes would definitely have been much more of an intuitive thinker. He rationalized easily, making vague abstractions clear through the use of language which demonstrated in a physical way how they made sense. Pascal would have been much more of a mathematical thinker. He thought in a linear fashion, and would have and did make arguments in the vein of geometry theorems. First Pascal would begin with one argument and then logically make sure the other arguments followed in a linear sequence. For example, he would take one statement which would be his main idea. Next, Pascal would most likely support this idea with relevant evidence and facts. He would clearly and succinctly make his case as for why the mind and the body were one and the same element. Most likely, Descartes would take a roundabout way at arriving at his conclusions. First, he would take an abstract concept, perhaps using the mind and intelligence as kind of a springboard for talking about other subjects more liberally. Then, Descartes would continue to use evidence to back up his theoretical underpinnings, probably using more abstractions to support his abstract concept. Finally, he would probably wrap up in summation by using some concrete examples of what he was talking about in abstract terms. The mind and the body are surely two separate things in some senses of the word, but Descartes could have seamlessly made these two entities dualist aspects of consciousness that can and must be separated. Pascal would have no doubt argued in the contra, that no, the mind and body are ultimately one and the same. However, any philosopher worth his or her salt would see that both philosophers would have had equally valid arguments in trying to convince people of their worldview. Each philosopher had very valid points about their own stances that would lend relevance to each of their particular theories. Descartes and Pascal had differing theories about the mind and the body. Whereas Descartes thought the mind and the body were separate entities existing at the same time, Pascal thought these two entities were inseparable. Pascal felt that there were universal principles which applied to the laws, which would also have applied to scientific principles. Pascal stated, “The only universal rules are the laws of the country in ordinary affairs and of the majority in others” (1660, p. 1). Descartes and Pascal were both philosophers who looked at the world from their own perspectives and tried to make sense of their worlds. They both tried using reason in order to make deductions and educated guesses, making sure to try their hardest to come to logical conclusions. Descartes was more of an abstract thinker. Pascal was more of an empirical thinker. Pascal felt reason was one of the most important facets of any argument, and that war was thus unreasonable. “The most unreasonable things in the world become most reasonable, because of the unruliness of men” (1660, p. 1). When it came to questions of the mind and the body, Descartes chose to rationalize that the mind must be separate from the body and therefore, intelligence was a nonphysical entity. Pascal thought intelligence and the mind were part of the body and one and the same. Descartes was definitely more of a metaphysical thinker. He followed after the steps of Aristotle, preferring to think in abstractions. Pascal was much more of a rationalist, empirical thinker. He followed after the steps of Plato, preferring to think in concrete terms about issues. In that sense, both men were different in their approaches. However, another similarity was that both men were classically trained philosophical thinkers who followed in the footsteps of their predecessors by rationally deducing logical and well-thought-out arguments. Each of these men should be revered for their great contributions to society. Descartes and Pascal differed in their approaches. While Pascal was more rational, he believed that the mind and the body were the same. In contrast, Descartes thought the mind was wholly, totally separate from the body. REFERENCES Cartesian dualism and the union of mind and body. (2010). Available: www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Mode/ModeMonr.htm Gillespie, A. (2006). Theory and psychology. Available: tap.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/16/6/761.pdf Pascal, B. Thoughts on mind and on style. (1660). [Online Article]. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/pascal/pensees-contents.html. Rene Descartes. (2010). [Online Article]. Available: http://www.wutsamada.com/alma/modern/descquot.htm Read More