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Saba Ashraf's picture

Descartes vs. Dickinson

When deciding whether I agree with Descartes or Dickinson, I like to believe in Descartes’ belief more than Dickinson’s.  Although I do agree with Dickinson’s argument to an extent because of all the scientific progress that has been made, I don’t like to think that everything comes from matter.   However, the reasons for why Dickinson’s argument is becoming popular were very convincing.  The idea that altering the nervous system can alter behavior was particularly interesting. It is surprising to hear that altering something physical, the brain, could have treated something that was thought to be part of the mind years ago, such as epilepsy.  In fact, those with epilepsy and schizophrenia are probably relieved that these illnesses are no longer looked at as problems of the mind since generally problems of the mind are a lot harder to get rid of than problems that has a physical origin to them.  I would also imagine that this particular idea about altering the brain gives hopes to those with other mental illnesses that don’t have proper treatments currently.  Despite all of this, I still want to believe there is a lot more to a human being than just their brain and body.  Just as other’s have mentioned, it is a lot more comforting to believe in a soul living after death than a physical body after death.   Even though Dickinson’s argument is becoming more popular due to the observations we are able to make of the brain, there is still possibility and time for more to be discovered about the “soul” and “mind.” We have much more to learn and perhaps in the future, Descartes’ argument will become more popular.  

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