Concept of Dualism - Term Paper Example

Dualism Dualism The term dualism is used to refer to the method of defining how an individual’s physical being as well as cognitive being exist together and work together. In simpler terms dualism refers to the existence of two states i.e. the mental as well as the physical state. Different theorists have determined varying forms of dualism. Contradictory to the theory of dualism is the theory of materialism which states that the mental state does not exist and only the physical one is in existence. Dualism has been quite severally criticized especially by scientists. The reasons due to which dualism is criticized as that it promotes cognition. Scientists do not agree on the notion forwarded by dualism because they believe that the process if introspection is quite prejudiced and they even reject formulae of mathematics as they believe that both the ways of inquiry are not sufficient to test. Scientists even disagree with dualist because of a strong association between the neural as well as the cognitive events. The last reason due to which scientists argue against dualism is because dualism believes that there is a world that is not physical in nature. Introduction There are various ways through which the interaction of the mind and the body can be studied. One of these ways is dualism which simply states that both the cognitive as well as physical events exist together (Hergenhahn, 2009). Different forms of dualism exist and these forms either argue that the mind and the body interact together or they argue that both the states are independent of each other. For example interactionism argues that there is a causal relationship between both the physical and the mental being and one influences the other (Hergenhahn, 2009). Another form of dualism is emergentism which holds the position that an individual’s status of cognition is derived from their condition of brain (Hergenhahn, 2009). A third form is psychological parallelism which states that both the mental and the physical state operate independent of one and other, but they both operate alongside each other (Hergenhahn, 2009). Fourth form of dualism is double aspectism which states that there is no causal relationship between both the mind and the body, but they exist in one single system and cannot be divided (Hergenhahn, 2009). Body Position In Favor Of Existence of Dualism There have been various researchers who have focused on the concept of dualism to explain the principle. One such researcher was Rene Descartes that both the cognition as well as the physical body are two separate entities (Hergenhahn, 2009). He has argued the validity of his stance on the bases of a doubt argument. While using the doubt argument to promote his statement, he stated that he can be doubtful regarding the existence of his physical being, but since he is thinking and being doubtful, he cannot doubt the existence of his mind, thus both the body and mind are two separate entities. Another argument postulated by Descrates was regarded as the conceivability argument in which he stated that he can imagine the nonexistence of his body while being an individual who can think. He further states that whatever he imagines can take place, then two things that can exist without each other then they are not supposed to be similar to each other. A third argument he gave was the divisibility argument in which he stated that mind and body are two separate entities because he believes that if something is removed from his physical existence such as his arm, it would have no effect on his mind. Arguments Against Dualism The idea that contradicts the principle of dualism is materialism which states that all the things in this universe are made from physically visible elements which include an individual’s cognition and there is no such thing in existence that cannot be seen (Hergenhahn, 2009). Dualist argue against the position of materialism by stating that if the mind was only a physical being, then the concepts of thinking, feelings, opinions as well as wants would not have existed. Even scientists agree that they have failed to explain the existence of consciousness and for a long period of time both the dualist and the materialist have been standing against each other. There are certain portions of the cognition that are quite difficult to explain, still scientists reject the theory of dualism. One such element is speech as speech is although physically as well as psychologically present, but even if vocal speech would not have existed, some amount of transfer and interpretation of language would have still taken place in shape of language through signs. Scientists contradict the theory of dualism for several reasons. One of the main reason due to which scientists criticize dualism is that the theory cannot be experimented. For example it is very difficult to experiment the existence of consciousness. One method through which psychologists have tried to define consciousness is through the tool of introspection. In introspection an individual is asked to witness a particular stimulus and then explain their experiences with the stimuli (Tiangco, 2008). But scientists argue that introspection is quite biased to be true. This means that individuals who are involved in the study of self can provide a different explanation of their experiences as compared to what they actually experienced. Secondly introspection lacks standardized rules of testing. This means that there is no one single standard rule through which introspection performed with different subjects can be compared. Introspection is only valid on the assumption that when more than one individuals experience the same cognitive experience from a particular stimulus, the sum of these experiences are of higher value as compared to the experience of one single individual. According to a researcher named Hume, the process of introspection does not prove the existence of permanent self and rather it only proves several brief opinions (Tiangco, 2008). This even means that introspection cannot even be tested through mathematics. Introspection provides data regarding an individual’s opinions and opinions can never be tested with mathematical formulations. Scientists state that the elements of psychics as well as chemistry including motion and molecules can be tested through mathematical formulae, but opinions cannot be tested and thus they reject dualism. Scientists even argue against dualism because they state that there is a co relational relationship between the mental and neural elements of human body. They state that two separate entities including cognition and the physical self do not exist and rather a mind that is physical in nature only exist (Tiangco, 2008)s. Scientists argue that since the physical form of mind exists, when individuals experience a blow to their heads, they tend to end up losing their memory. They event state that what an individual thinks or feels (emotions) are dependent on the way nerves operate. They state that the body can only feel pain when the nerves send a message to the brain that an individual is in pain. This pain would not have existed if a person’s nerves would not have been able to feel the pain. Scientists state that in order to understand psychology and the brain in a valid manner, it is essential to learn term with the connection of nerves. Another reason due to which science has rejected the claims of dualism is that they do not believe in the existence of a world that is unseen and is not available in a state that is not physical in nature (Tiangco, 2008). The dualist state that several concepts such as feelings as well as privacy exist but they exist in an unseen world. Scientists believe that the phenomenon of an unseen world is absurd because there are several things that human beings may not be able to see but this does not mean that they do not exist in the physical world. They state that in future through research the physical existence of these elements can be proven. Dualists on their part have exhibited inability to prove the evidence of an unseen state. Scientists believe that such a thought pattern is against the promotion of advancement in research. They stated that if in the past researches would not have been conducted on various elements; human wellbeing would have suffered by a great deal. There for science argue against dualism because it does not promote the scientists from looking for further advancements. Conclusion Dualism is a contributor to the debate between the existence of the mind and the body. In this dispute the dualists hold that a mind that is conscious in nature and a physical state of human mind exist together. Some dualists have argued that both the mind and the body either have correlation or a causal relationship with each other. While there are dualists who argue that they exist independent to each other, but they exist in a single system called the human body. The position held by dualist has been severally criticized by materialists as well as scientists. The materialists claim that there is no existence of cognition and only the physical body of a human being exists. Scientists counter the claims of dualist because they believe that the assertions made by the dualist cannot be tested through experimentation and they believe that introspection is too biased and cannot be mathematically tested. Scientists even argue that there is no state that cannot be seen and believing so is against the advancement of future research. References Hergenhahn, B. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (1st ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Tiangco, J. (2008). The way of psychology (1st ed.). Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines: Central Books. Read More