Dualism Research Paper

The human mind and body are two similar, yet very different things. The mind is separate from the body. Scientifically the body is what we can physically see, and the mind is the mental process, such as thought and conscious that we cannot see. A major philosophical question is whether the two are connected. There is the idea called Monism that states nothing can exist apart from the material world and Dualism is the idea that they can both exist separately (McLeod). However, Dualism is the more accepted of the two ideas.

Plato first integrated the idea of Dualism in his Theory of Forms, he argued that if a person can make intellectual assessments, the mind and body must be separate. The famous philosopher Descartes also argued that the two were separate and that the mind controlled the body, but in some cases the mind can influence the body (McLeod). For the mind and body to be separate they must also interact. Dualism states that when a person passes their "mind" or their spirt is still alive, just no longer in a physical body. This means that while they are alive the two interact and once you pass your spirt is continued on. Dualism however, does not have any religious upbringing.

This is the idea that our souls are not directly connected to the body and that they are made up of nonmaterial things, like thoughts and feelings. These thoughts, feelings and other things that make up the Immaterial Soul continue to survive outside of our body for eternity. Personally, I do believe that our mind and body are two separate identities. I believe our body is the physical being and our mind is all of our feelings, senses, and thoughts. For a person to believe in the Immaterial Soul, they must also believe that it can survive without a neurobiological foundation. I personally believe that the Immaterial Soul can survive outside of our