"Eric D. Pierce" wrote: > > begin > hallo > what is dual? > exit >
Quote : Dualism is a time-honored philosophical position which is exemplified by: 1.Pre-Socratics' appearance/reality distinction 2.Plato's forms/world distinction 3.Hume's fact/value distinction 4.Kant's empirical phenomena/transcendental noumena distinction 5.Heidegger's being/time distinction 6.Russell's existence/subsistence distinction 7.Descartes mind/matter distinction It is, of course, the last of these which is of most immediate interest to philosophers of mind. There has been a recent revival of interest in the topic of Cartesian dualism amongst modern philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists. Arguments against dualism have been provided on the basis of both empirical evidence and on philosophical grounds, and clearly express the predominant view (Dennett, Damasio, Churchland). However, a number of modern philosophers of mind, though in the minority, have come to the defense of dualism (e.g. Hart). The question of dualism is not only of historical interest, it also has important implications for the scientific enterprise. If a convincing rejection of dualism can be formulated, the classic mind-body problem will be solved by its becoming a non-problem and the materialist approach of modern science will be vindicated. If, conversely, dualism can be convincingly maintained, it is by no means obvious that empirical evidence will suffice for a thorough understanding of the mind -- in other words, understanding the brain may not be enough for understanding the mind. (more of it at http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~philos/MindDict/dualism.html). There is also, of course, (ahahaha, how could I forget it) Spinoza's dual-aspect theory in which the unitary substance God is expressed in the distinct modes of the mental and the physical. Wonderful thing, google. sf -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Stephane Faroult INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
