Thao 1

Thao Cao
Mr. Arnold
Philosophy and Religion
September 17th, 2015
Argument for metaphysical dualism
If you have watched the film Inside Out by Pixar Animation Studios, you will know the
existence of thoughts (generally speaking, the Mind) in the most illustrative and simple way,
parallel to the real-life physical events experienced by people (in another word, the Body). If
there is one message that Pixar would like to convey to its audience, the Body and the Mind exist
distinctly. However, the insightful yet elusive nature of philosophy requires more than one
animated film to fully account for this metaphysical stance: dualism, in reply to the question of
the relation between the mental state and the physical state. Indeed, since the Body parts can be
divided yet they are still able to function while the Mind is indivisible with consecutive thoughts
and flow of consciousness, the Mind is distinct from the Body, which can be supported by
concrete arguments from Plato and Descartes.
Dualism in philosophy is the school that defends the distinct and separate existence of the
Mind and the Body. Dualists, thus, strive to account for the radical difference between the mental
and the physical world. Notable dualists are Plato and Descartes. To support Dualism, Plato
presents four arguments in the dialogue Phaedo to prove that the souls exist before birth and
after death, indissoluble and indestructible: The Cyclical Argument, The Recollection Argument,
The Affinity Argument, and The Argument from Opposites. The Cyclical Argument begins with

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two premises: those that have an opposite come to be from their opposite and being alive is
the opposite of being dead. Therefore, living creatures come to be from the dead and there is a
process of becoming from being dead to being alive. Therefore, the souls of the dead exist
somewhere because there is a process of the dead coming to life. The Recollection Argument, in
turn, proves souls existed before we were born as following: If X recollects Y at the time T, then
X knew Y before T and we knew the Equal before birth; therefore, our souls existed before we
were born. The Affinity Argument argues the soul is indissoluble because the soul is
noncomposite thing, invisible form, which always remains the same state. The Argument from
the Opposites reasons that as the soul brings along the Deathless, an indestructible thing, then the
soul is indestructible. Altogether, the arguments prove an undeniable existence of the soul,
alongside the body.
Platos argument reinforces the conclusion of dualism, yet does not totally satisfy the
philosophy world. Therefore, Ren Descartes continues the quest for an ultimate answer to the
mind-body problem. In Descartes opinion, even though the Body and the Mind exist distinctly,
they have strong interrelation as one can influence the other. One of Descartes arguments is the
Doubt Argument: I can doubt that my body exists; I cannot doubt that I exist as a thinking thing;
therefore, I, as a thinking thing, am not identical with my body. In other words, my soul exists
distinctly from my body. Another argument is the Conceivability Argument which again proves
that I. as a thinking thing, am not identical with my extended body as I can conceive my
existence as a thinking thing without my body existing, and anything conceivable is logically
possible, and if it is logically possible that X exist without Y, then X is not identical with Y.
Therefore my soul is not identical with my body.

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However, not all philosophers agree upon this stance of dualism. Scientists such as
Maslin argue that evolution gives us a reason for privileging the physical. 1 Since life on earth
is an entirely physical process, there is nothing non-physical, such as the soul, added to our
beings. Every change or evolutionary feature can be explained in a scientific way such as the
random mutation process and the accretion of matter through nutritional intake. Thus, human
beings are nothing more than physical identities, and the dualism theory is false.
In response, Dualists can question the true origin of life as it still remains a mystery and a
source of debate. If we are the result of the naturalistic, evolutionary forces, then physicalism is
true, but physicalism is not proven yet (as there is no concrete evidences that humans are merely
the result of naturalistic, evolutionary forces) 2. Therefore, humans are not merely physical
identities.
In conclusion, it is reasonable to argue for the extinct existence of both Mind and Body.

1 Maslin, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (Massachusetts, Blackwell, 2001), p. 33.

2 Davies, The origin of life (New York, Penguin Books, 1999), p. 122.

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Bibliography
1. James, Fieser and Norman, Lillegard. A historical introduction to Philosophy. New York.
Oxford University Press. 2002
2. Jostein, Gaarder. Sophies world. Norway. Farrar. 1991.