Final answer:
Dualism, proposed by Rene Descartes in the 17th century, posits that reality consists of two fundamentally distinct substances: the mental and the physical.
This duality creates the mind-body problem, questioning how these two dissimilar substances interact. Despite its historical influence, dualism faces significant objections and calls for substantial reasoning to defend its claims.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dualism is a philosophical concept that primarily deals with the relationship between the mind and the body. Rene Descartes, who is often credited with formulating modern dualism, proposed that there are two distinct kinds of substance that constitute reality: the mental and the physical.
This concept was introduced by Descartes in the early 17th century, particularly with his 1641 work Meditations on First Philosophy.
According to Descartes, the mind is a 'thinking thing' (res cogitans), which is fundamentally different from the body, a 'nonthinking extended thing' (res extensa).
This distinction led to the formulation of Cartesian dualism, often referred to as substance dualism. However, this division also creates a significant problem known as the mind-body problem. It poses questions regarding how two completely different substances can interact and how the immaterial mind can influence the physical body.
This has been one of the most persistent questions in the realm of philosophy, and many objections to dualism have arisen over time, arguing for alternative perspectives like materialism or monism that deny the existence of non-physical substances.
As a philosophical view, dualism asserts that human experience and consciousness cannot be fully explained through physicalism alone.
Still, it must contend with the evidence for and against its claims, needing strong reasoning to overcome objections to the mind-body interaction issue.