Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of DualismArguments for DualismCriticisms of DualismDualism in Different FieldsContemporary Perspectives on Dualism
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Dualism
Arguments for Dualism
Criticisms of Dualism
Dualism in Different Fields
Contemporary Perspectives on Dualism
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Dualism is a philosophical concept that concludes that the mind is separate from the body, and therefore mental phenomena are not physical in nature and vice versa.Dualism can trace its roots back to ancient Greece and philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, who grappled with the relationship between the mind and the body, as well as early Hindu philosophy.
If you’re familiar with thegut-brain axis, you’re likely aware of the growing body of scientific research around the idea of the mind-body connection. We continue to learn more and more about how things like gut health, diet, and physical health are connected to our mental health. Dualism represents a more abstract, philosophical approach to these issues, but demonstrates how we have been grappling with the idea of the mind-body connection for ages.
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There are several kinds of dualism. Here are some of the most popular.
Substance Dualism
Substance dualism, also known as cartesian dualism, argues that the mind and the body are fundamentally different. According toDr. Brian Tierney, the Somatic Doctor, a licensed psychologist, “This type of dualism considers that the mind and the body are composed of… different substances”—an immaterial mind that has mental properties and a material body that has physical properties.
Rene Descartes was a key proponent of this view. He believed that the mind and the body could exist without one another, but the body without the mind could not think.This kind of dualism is compatible with many theologies that claim that people’s immortal souls are in a different plane of existence from that of the physical plane.
Property Dualism
Property dualism, in contrast to substance dualism, “suggests that there are mental and physical properties of the same substance, such as the activity of nerves in the brain,” says Tierney. That is, while the mind has non-physical properties, they emerge from the brain, a physical substance.
“For example,” Tierney explains, “the sensation of pain has physical properties involving actual brain activity, as well as mental properties that have to do with the subjective experience of, say, stubbing your toe.”
Epistemological Dualism
This has also been used to distinguish knowledge from beliefs as well as reason from faith and facts from values. Knowledge, reason, and facts are objective, while belief, faith and values are subjective.
There are several arguments for dualism, including:
The Mind-Body Problem
Tierney explains, “the way the mind-body problem is articulated supports dualism because it suggests that mental and physical properties are fundamentally different.” That is, the mind and body stand in contrast as two separate systems.
The Problem of Consciousness
The problem ofconsciousness, known as the “hard problem” of physics, observes that conscious states and physical states are not the same thing.
As Boscaljon says, “This often gets to the chicken and egg problem.” Some believe consciousness came first while others believe matter or the physical came first. Either way, this serves as an argument for dualism as it sets consciousness or the mind against the body as two different things.
The Argument From Personal Identity
This argument, which dates from the late 1700s, claims that a person’s identity is not the same as their physical body. “In the identity debates,” observes Tierney, “it is hard to find thinkers who argue that every aspect of the identity is physical.” This supports dualism and tends to lead to another kind of dualism:nature versus nurture.
Criticisms of dualism include the following.
The Interaction Problem
Proponents of this criticism tell us that, as Boscaljon says, “it wouldn’t make sense for there to be two qualitatively different substances”—i.e. the mental and the physical. Instead, Tierney explains, “physical pain, for example, can interact with the mind and the mind can create physical pain in the body over time… If the mind and the body interact like this,” they can’t be separate the way dualists claim.
The Problem of Causal Closure
As a result, scientists who believe in this argue against dualism. According to Tierney, “this approach can be found in various regions ofpsychiatry, where behavior is about neurons and observable molecules, not the mind.”
The Argument from Neuroscience
This criticism stems fromneuroscience’s discovery of “tight correlations between the functioning of the mind and the functioning of the physical brain.”Tierney takes this one step further, saying, “Beyond correlations are the neuroscientific findings that regions of the brain such as the thalamus can be directly stimulated to create changes in consciousness.
Additionally, chemical messengers likeserotonincan have a dramatic effect onconsciousness, as experienced when taking serotonin modulators such asmagic mushroomsor LSD.” Neuroscience is, thus, a strong voice against dualism.
Dualism shows up in a variety of fields. Here are three:
The following represent some of the more modern perspectives and arguments around the idea of dualism:
Summary
Dualism states that the mind, or nonphysical, is different in substance from the body, or physical. There are several kinds of dualism including substance, property, and epistemological dualism. While dualism can trace its roots back to ancient Greece, perhaps 17thcentury philosopher Rene Descartes articulated the dualist view most clearly.
While there are arguments both for and against dualism, it’s hard not to appreciate this viewpoint. Entire philosophies have been built around binaries such as mind-body, good-bad, subject-object, and one-many.
6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Montero BG.Dualism. Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction. 2022.Dualism. The Basics of Philosophy.Leithart P.Epistemological Dualism. Theopolis Institute. 2014.Physics 419, Lecture 21. University of Illinois. 2021.Weisberg J.The Hard Problem of Consciousness. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Hawkes G.Hey, Neuroscience, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Objections to Substance Dualism (Part 1). A Philosopher’s Take. 2015.
6 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Montero BG.Dualism. Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction. 2022.Dualism. The Basics of Philosophy.Leithart P.Epistemological Dualism. Theopolis Institute. 2014.Physics 419, Lecture 21. University of Illinois. 2021.Weisberg J.The Hard Problem of Consciousness. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Hawkes G.Hey, Neuroscience, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Objections to Substance Dualism (Part 1). A Philosopher’s Take. 2015.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Montero BG.Dualism. Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction. 2022.Dualism. The Basics of Philosophy.Leithart P.Epistemological Dualism. Theopolis Institute. 2014.Physics 419, Lecture 21. University of Illinois. 2021.Weisberg J.The Hard Problem of Consciousness. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Hawkes G.Hey, Neuroscience, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Objections to Substance Dualism (Part 1). A Philosopher’s Take. 2015.
Montero BG.Dualism. Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction. 2022.
Dualism. The Basics of Philosophy.
Leithart P.Epistemological Dualism. Theopolis Institute. 2014.
Physics 419, Lecture 21. University of Illinois. 2021.
Weisberg J.The Hard Problem of Consciousness. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Hawkes G.Hey, Neuroscience, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Objections to Substance Dualism (Part 1). A Philosopher’s Take. 2015.
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