Descartes, Meditation on first Philosophy 2 Nature of the mind

The “Cogito” is the fact that I am acknowledging that I am a being because I am able to think. The saying “I think therefore I am” refers to this idea of cogito because we are not sure we are dreaming and may not be a person. It could be an illusion as we are still a human from the fact that we are aware and have the ability to think. From the writing he says “Undoubtedly I believe myself to be a man. But what is a man? Shall I say a reasonable animal”. This way of thinking can’t occur without something doing the thinking and action, therefore there is something or someone that is committing these motives of thinking. This shows that the mind is separate from the body and doubting that there is a body and a mind. We can’t doubt that we don’t not have a mind because a mind allows us to be conscious and aware. Our minds allow us to think and do everything we can do that requires us to use our minds. 

The wax example, Descartes demonstrates that when we explain wax is as a body something that resembles us as a being. By doing this, this shows that we are judging with our minds and not merely using our senses like just touching or seeing. We are able to make the judgement in our minds by thinking which later Descartes brings up imagination. In relation to dualism, the wax example helps support the idea that the mind and body are separate from one another. Dualism refers to the mind and body. This representation shows that the mind and body are connected by using the essence and the aroma from the wax could be a demonstration of mind and body. With this connection the body without the mind is useless and shows the question why? What can the body do without the mind and in conclusion the dualism of the mind begins the mind connection to the body.

The problem that Princess Elisabeth asks Descartes to explain comes from the passage that the soul of a human being is only a thinking substance, how can it affect the bodily spirits, in order to bring about voluntary actions? Which leads to the question how does the soul move the body if one is material and the other immaterial? because it seems that how a thing moves depends on how much it is pushed, the manner in which it is pushed, or the material and shape of the thing that pushes it.The Princess is  asking Descartes that since he claims that the mind can think without the body, what happens to the mind then once a person has died and all that is left is their spirit. Descartes then explains, in short, that the body is like an extension, it is the figure and the movement. He also says that the soul are thoughts, perceptions, and will. Together the body and soul are a union and work with one another. The force of the soul is what moves the body and the force of the body is to cause feelings and passions basically. Descartes tries to use a notion with weight that weight is the force of moving the body down towards the earth which somehow relates to how the soul moves the body. Elisabeth, I still question Descartes’ claims and she is not fully satisfied with his claims especially with his example of weights. It just doesn’t make sense about the movement and connection between the soul and body and how weight has some correspondence to the soul moving the body down to earth. She explains how Descartes previously stated that there is no motion at a distance which makes the body and soul connection and she says it makes it more mysterious. He says, “to conceive the union existing between two things is to conceive them as one thing alone” and Descartes says it is used by imagination. I personally question his way of thinking and have doubts with his weights example.

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