Cartesian Dualism - Philosophy Tube

Descartes in his Meditations tries to prove that mind and body are separate and fundamentally different substances, but is he right?

Our comment music is 'You Sexy Thing (I believe in Miracles)' by Hot Chocolate

[padgettparker]

Stop me if you've heard this one . Descartes is drinking in a bar when the bartender asks, ' You want another ?'. Descartes responds, ' I think not " and vanishes .

[usernameplaceholder]

Lil crazy that this episode was put out when I was 12, and now I'm 21 working on my own philosophy degree. Thanks for the homework help! Very entertaining seeing you with baby face, as someone who started watching your work more recently.

[RedWraith]

This channel is the only thing helping me pass second year philosophy

[InspiringTheology]

These philosophy videos are amazing and relatable to younger audiences becuase of all the rerences. Im happy to have known about this channel early on but especially now since im taking a philosophy class in College. Not to mention Olly is much better at relaying philosophical concepts than can my Professor.

[notquiteyoung]

i have an essay due tomorrow and this really helped!!!

[cazminah]

"This video is about the link between Descartes, Keanu Reeves, and Yu-Gi-Oh."
Ok, you have my attention.

[TASTERGHST]

Thankyou so much, you saved my butt today for the philosophy test. Watching this made me have that "dear god i finally get it" moment. Keep it up man, your videos are super helpful!

[waterkingdavid]

Required reading : Norman Doidge - "The Brain that Changes Itself". This work which covers countless cases evidencing neuroplasticity at work is a game changer in my opinion regarding the way we think about the brain, the mind, the will and consciousness.
Its is baffling to me that now that neuroplasticity is about 30 years old and is basically proven it is still hardly considered much. Partly I think because it basically proves that through effort we can indeed change our brains and consciousness. Medical science/pharmaceutical industry have no interest in promoting anything that requires some kind of independent action on our part. Pills or surgery are what they prefer.

[NonsensicalReality]

I don't think Decartes understood that he was consciousness, not the thoughts themselves. Identified with his mind when the mind is but a tool that we find hard to see objectively. When you acquire the skill of watching the mind and see the thoughts flowing by, you have much more control over your reality.

[WoundedEgo]

This was crystal clear. You have a gift for teaching. Many thanks for posting this.

[Greyzepher]

I wont deny, I really didn't like your style when I first watched ages ago, now im studying for exams, these videos are fantastic, thank you for putting these up!

[happycowsmmmcheese]

I'm studying for an essay due next week, and this video is one of the best on this subject I have come by. This is really going to help me flesh out the structure. Really, thank you!!! <3

[sethjacobson]

4:17 "throws up" - my single pet peeve of the English language is that this phrase has no other meaning to me except "to vomit", and it will not leave my brain. Love this stuff!

[dinette]

Wonderfully done! Thanks!
I do believe Descartes was on to something - but I don't think it is an either or. I think body and mind/soul are separate - but while they are connected together on earth, they can impact each other.... Upon death - they separate and become truly distinct.

[celestereese]

Just discovered this channel and now I'm binge watching every video until my mind is too exhausted to keep going. This is an amazing channel!

[pnkdamnds]

Thank you! this is a really easy way to understand the concept, I read 10 journals and learned more from your video than I did from them! Cheers! I am new to philosophy so your channel is very helpful.

[Elfos]

This discussion reminds me of the times I've discussed with people the existence of souls. Every time I have that discussion, it always reaches the same dead end: what is a soul? People generally say it's a non-specific part of us that transcends our physical bodies, and imply that our memories and personality with be intact in any afterlife there might be. However, the problem with that is that is it brings into question what purpose our organic brains serve if our experiences and identities aren't physical. If people sustain a head injury, they can get amnesia and lose part of our memory and even our self-perception; some victims can be turned into radically different people because of it, which shouldn't happen if those things aren't physical. Can our souls sustain damage? What sense does that make? Is our mind the same as our soul? If so, then that would be a good argument against what Descartes said. While I'm at it, some cultures believe in astro-projection, an out-of-body experience, and the brain is a lot more than just a chemical reactor data storage (you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees with that), both of which could be considered evidence to support what Descartes said. 

[wendytrust]

Just found your videos for the first time, and I am in love with the way you breakdown difficult concepts!

[weiminshi]

Found this one cuz I'm trying to answer a question in Neuroscience lol. You did a good job explaining the Dualism~

[HYPED]

Please keep these going you're really good at explaining..