Hart -- Argument for Dualism and Sehon -- Substance Dualism and Simplicity - Assignment Example

Substance dualism and simpli Substance dualism and simpli focuses on a set of views that talk about the relationship between the mind and matter. Substance dualism mainly focuses on the position in which the body and the mind are not identical, in dualism the view of the mind is that it is an immaterial substance above and over our physical bodies. Substance dualism hold the mind as a substance that is not physical, hence the name ‘substance dualism.’ in this it is important to understand that substance dualism in philosophy asserts that matter and the mind are two distinct kinds of foundations (Sehon, 2005)The key factors in substance dualism are the body and the mind, in the concept the body and mind can never meet, they are entirely two different things.

Sehon explains this concept through using religion as an example; he discusses the religious understanding of how people can survive their bodily deaths and the thoughts of afterlife. In both scenarios, it is only the body that dies, leaving the soul and mind. However, when the simplicity principle comes in the whole concept of substance dualism fairs very poorly. This is because the main concept s in the simplicity principle talks about the mind and body as one; it explains the body and mind as materialistic substances.

The simplicity principle states that all humans evolved from a single cell organisms, hence if the body is materialistic so should be the mind. The questions asked by the materialists leave the dualists pinned, materialist’s critic the dualists by denying the dualists concept of the mind and body differing from each other. This results to the fact that so far no one has explained dualism to an extent that its advantages surpass those of simplicity, thus the failure of dualism when the simplicity principle is applied (Sehon, 2005)The case for materialismMaterialism holds matter as a fundamental substance in nature; this includes consciousness and mental phenomena.

It argues that mental phenomena and consciousness all result from material interactions, this brings in the main difference between materialism and dualism; the concepts of materialism however wins in this case (Gertler, 2007)Materialism explains everything in relation to matter and physics, it however focuses on the concept of consciousness.in this it considers the bodily behaviors in relation to the conscious causes, defending it arguments on physical science. Materialism argues that the movements of the body result from the physical processes of the brain and those in the nerves.

it states that most of the processes are identical to some part of a physical process. The processes in our brains and the nerves cause the physical contractions of the bodily muscles hence the movements. Materialism faces critic mainly from those who believe that the mind and matter do not have influences on one another, this critics mainly come from those who defend substance dualism the critics of materialism bring rise to the concept of ‘epiphenomenalism’ which respect the completeness of physics, it argues that the physical brain is not influencedThe materialistic concept however seems truer; conscious act occurring first then the cortical activity later.

It is however important to understand that the arguments in the materialistic theory makes more sense than those in the dualism theory, materialism has good argumentative arguments, this is however not available for the philosophers as the completeness of physics in materialism rests on empirical evidence (Gertler, 2007)ReferenceSehon, S. (2005). Teleological realism: Mind, agency, and explanation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Gertler, B. & Shapiro, L. (2007). 11, the case for materialism. In Arguing about the mind (pp. 125-132). New York: Routledge.