Final answer:
René Descartes is the philosopher who believed that the mind is separate from the body and that they are connected through the pineal gland. The correct option is B.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the mind is separate from the body and the two are connected via the pineal gland is associated with the French philosopher René Descartes. Descartes proposed a form of dualism, implying that there are two distinct substances: the mind (res cogitans) and the body (res extensa).
He believed in the existence of a non-material mind that existed independently of the physical body and interacted with the body through the pineal gland, although modern science has since disproven this specific role of the pineal gland.
Descartes is well-known for his statement “Cogito, ergo sum,” asserting that the act of thinking itself is proof of one’s existence, which he posited as clear evidence of a non-physical mind or soul.