Final answer:
The idea that sense qualities exist only in the mind, and not in the external world, has been a long-debated topic in philosophy. Philosophers like George Berkeley and Rene Descartes provided significant contributions to this discourse, the former advocating idealism and the latter proposing dualism. However, their views have been critiqued and contrasted with modern science and other philosophical arguments that emphasize the interconnectedness of body and mind.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Mind-Dependent Reality in Philosophy
The concept that sense qualities only exist in the mind or soul, and not really out in the world, is a philosophical perspective that has been forwarded since the times of Galileo, Descartes, and Locke. Philosophers like Bishop George Berkeley built upon the ideas of his predecessors to argue for a form of idealism, where all known qualities of the world are essentially dependent on the minds that perceive them. Berkeley went as far as to say that the existence of all physical things in the world is contingent upon them being ideas in the mind of the divine, highlighting the dependency of sensation upon this divine volition.
Rene Descartes, famous for his assertion 'cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am), contributed the dualistic view that separates the mind (non-physical) and body (physical), suggesting a distinct difference between the realms of thought and material substance. Descartes' dualism implied that a 'thinking thing' does not require physicality to exist. However, his views have faced criticism, particularly from modern science, which generally posits that thought cannot occur without a physical brain. Dissimilar views, such as those of Merleau-Ponty, argue against Cartesian dualism by emphasizing the inseparability of perception from the body, suggesting that the body mediates our interactions with the world. Kant also provided insight into knowledge acquisition, proposing that sensibility and understanding are both crucial for experiencing objects placed in space and time.