Question

Rene Descartes' concept of dualism is BEST described by which of the following?

a) The belief in two separate realities: the conscious mind and the unconscious mind
b) The separation of the mind and body into distinct entities
c) The idea that mental processes are the result of physical brain activity
d) The concept that the unconscious mind controls conscious thoughts

Answer 1

Rene Descartes' concept of dualism is explained as the division of existence into two distinct realms: the non-physical mind and the physical body, which are fundamentally different substances.

Step-by-step explanation:

Rene Descartes' concept of dualism is best described by the separation of the mind and body into distinct entities. Descartes, a substance dualist, posited that there are two fundamental and irreducible realities: the physical (res extensa) and the non-physical or spiritual (res cogitans).

He famously concluded 'Cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am,' suggesting the existence of the mind as a thinking thing independent of the physical body. Descartes' dualism maintains that the mind, or the 'thinking thing,' is non-physical and can exist apart from the physical brain, whereas the body is a non-thinking, extended substance.