Substance Dualism Essay

547 Words3 Pages
Substance dualism is a philosophical theory about the distinction between bodies and persons. Bodies are entirely physical things without mental properties. Persons, like you and me are entirely non physical beings without any physical properties such as mass, size, velocity. We do have mental properties such as joys, fears, loves and pains. If we can exist without our bodies, than we cannot be bodies. We can exist without bodies. This is often described as the modal argument for substance dualism since it refers to the possibility of persons existing without bodies. The first premises is based on the axions of identity. In philosophical matters identity is equivalent to sameness, what is considered as perfect identity. In the mathematical equation, where X is equal to Y and logically, Y in the same way identical to X. What means that if, X is identical to Y, X is Y . X and Y are just two different variable for the same thing, property or event. Therefore Y cannot exist without X, because a thing cannot exist without itself. The Big Apple for instance, and the New York City are the very same place. The Big Apple wouldn’t exist without New York City, because the Big Apple is New York City. Both places are identical and cannot exist without each other. To summarize, if persons were the same thing as bodies, then persons could not exist without bodies. What this implies is that if persons could exist without bodies, then persons would not be the same thing as bodies. If we can exist without our bodies, then we cannot be our bodies. The second premise claims that we can exist without our bodies . The supportive argument for this premise is the conceivability argument which is based on the conceivability principle. We are using conceivability as reliable guide to possibility, predicting the time ormaking visual measurements, as well we planning and structuring our
Open Document