User:Emc.M-B.W2023/Interactionism (philosophy of mind)

= Interactionism (Philosophy of Mind) = Rene Descartes

Interactionism was propounded by the French rationalist philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650), and continues to be associated with him. Descartes posited that the body, being physical matter, was characterized by spatial extension but not by thought and feeling, while the mind, being a separate substance, had no spatial extension but could think and feel. Nevertheless, he maintained that the two interacted with one another, suggesting that this interaction occurred in the pineal gland of the brain.

Ella's changes

Interactionism can be distinguished from competing dualist theories of causation, including epiphenomenalism (which admits causation but views causation as unidirectional rather than bidirectional), and parallelism (which denies causation, while seeking to explain the semblance of causation by other means such as pre-established harmony or occasionalism).

instead, we write

Interactionism can be distinguished from competing dualist theories of causation. Similar to interactionism, epiphenomenalism admits causation but views causation as unidirectional rather than bidirectional. The theory accepts that the mind is affected by the physical body but not vice-versa. Parallelism denies causation while seeking to explain the semblance of causation by other means such as pre-established harmony or occasionalism.[1]

René Descartes[edit]
Interactionism was propounded by the French rationalist philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650), and continues to be associated with him. Descartes posited that the body, being physical matter, was characterized by spatial extension but not by thought and feeling, while the mind, being a separate substance, had no spatial extension but could think and feel. Nevertheless, he maintained that the two interacted with one another, suggesting that this interaction occurred in the pineal gland of the brain.+++ He was an extremely important figure in the development of modern philosophy and is considered to be one of the founders of analytical geometry. On top of his work with interactionism, he is famous for his popular statement “I think, therefore I am” which has become important in Western philosophy. Descartes' ideas about rationalism and skepticism have had an extremely significant influence on philosophers and are continuously talked about today.