Evaluate Descartes' argument that the mind and body are distinct substances?
Descartes believed that the mind and the body were two distinct substances that are very much different, each having its own function and purpose. Descartes considers the body as nothing more than "
a kind of mechanism that is outfitted with and composed of bones, nerves, muscles, veins, blood and skin" (Descartes 100), that would act in the same function and "motion" if no mind existed in it. He gives the example of an amputated limp; if a foot or an arm were taken off the body, the mind would continue to will, sense, and understand. Descartes regards the body as a mass that is extended in space. He goes on to explain that any extended or corporeal thing can be divisible into parts as like the body. The mind however can not be divided into parts; it is one complete and cohesive unit according to Descartes' understanding. This conclusion certifies "that the mind [is] wholly diverse from the body"......
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