Final answer:
Descartes concludes that the mind is a distinct, non-material entity that exists independently of the physical body. His philosophy, known as mind-body dualism, states that reality is composed of two substances: the non-physical mind and the physical body.
Step-by-step explanation:
Descartes and the Mind-Body Dualism
Rene Descartes, the French philosopher, proposed a theory known as mind-body dualism. Descartes's famous phrase, Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), underpins his conclusion that the mind is a distinct, non-material entity that exists independently of the physical body. He considered the mind, or the res cogitans, as a thinking thing capable of imagination, reasoning, and possessing an identity separate from the material body, or res extensa. According to Descartes, reality is composed of these two fundamentally different substances: the non-physical mind, and the physical body. The notion of dualism implies that the mind and body interact, yet are separate entities, thus supporting Descartes's conclusion that the mind is a different substance from the body. Despite modern scientific challenges to Cartesian Dualism, lacking evidence for thought without a brain, the historical impact of Descartes's thinking on the philosophy of mind remains significant.