Discussion of Decartes theory of dualism

The philosopher Descartes believed in the existence of both mind and matter, a

principle called Dualism. Matter refers to bodies and other physical objects. The mind

refers to non-material entities such as souls. Descartes believed in the existence of

matter because it was apparent to him that he possessed hands, feet and other

members associated with a body and that his body could interact and be affected by

other bodies and things which surrounded it (pg 152). He further asserts that he

cannot perceive anything that is not apparent to his senses, and since the images he

perceived in this manner were more distinct than those present in his memory he

concluded that these images could not have been produced by his mind, but must

have been produced by something else, either God or matter. He concluded that since

God is not a deceiver then it must be matter.

Descartes believed in the existence of the mind because he considered himself

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