Arguments Against Dualism - Churchland- the Movie, “Matrix”
Christina Lee Professor Alan Hausman Philosophy 101 April 22, 2010 Aldfkjlj dljasldkjflsdkjaf Have you ever, in your life, had a dream of sitting by the fire place and felt the warmth of the fire even though you are asleep in your room where there is no fire place at all? Have you had a dream where you are cringed in the back seat of the car and you saw your body also cringed when you awake from your dream? Many of you, if not all, probably had experiences like these because the body and the mind are distinct things; in fact, according to the French philosopher, Descartes, they are two very different kinds of things. From the books that he has written, “Passion of the Soul” and “The Description of the Human Body”, he said that the human body works like a machine and the mind is completely opposite; “that the body has the material properties of extension and motion, and that it follows the laws of physics. The mind or soul, on the other hand, was described as a nonmaterial entity that lacks extension and motion, and does not follow the laws of physics” (Wikipedia, “Rene Descartes.”) Descartes believed that a thought is the product of mental activity that happens in the mind which interacts with the body at the pineal gland. This dualistic structure is to say that the mind or a thought can influence the body and the body also can influence the mind that can cause a thought. In other words, the body and the mind are in correlation but cannotbe the same. Fans of the movie, “Matrix”, will comprehend this concept because in the movie, Descartes argument that the thoughts cannot be physical events is tested. In this case, it favors Descartes. Neo, a main character of “Matrix”, is lying down on a bed but his soul goes in to the computer system. During the entire period of time when his soul is in the computer system, his body lies still but his soul reacts and moves by his thought in the mental state. He thinks and his soul reacts. His soul is hurt but