Eureka!....Really? (Descartes' Theory of Dualism)

EUREKA!…REALLY?
(DESCARTES' THEORY OF DUALISM)
by Becky Lanes

How do I know that I exist? What am I made up of? How does my mind and body work together? What distinguishes me from an animal? Am I for real?

These are the very questions that must have troubled Rene Descartes. He was a doubter. In fact, he doubted his very own existence! Thus, in his search for an explanation and proof of his existence, Descartes, typically a rational and precise mathematician that he was, claimed to have discovered an absolute certainty. His quest led him to his theory of Dualism. The theory presents reassuring answers to questions about man’s existence, but it still leaves some gaps, given the context of our modern discoveries.

Rene Descartes, a well-educated and gifted Frenchman, lived during the 17th century as a well-known mathematician and philosopher. Towards the last part of his life, he was employed in the royal courts of Swede...