This assignment is due tomorrow March 29, 2016 by 23:59 Mountain time zone.
This assignment will be completed in three parts, so you may want to use section headers to organize your paper. Remember to explain the theories you reference with supporting citations to the textbook and online lectures before contrasting them in correct APA format. You may want to use examples to illustrate your understanding of key ideas in each theory.
Here is a guide to help you with APA-style citations. Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
Part 1: Explain Cartesian rationalism and the resulting mind/body problem (3-4 pages)
Discuss Cartesian rationalism and the mind/body problem arising from Descartes’ dualism. Draw upon your analysis of the Cartesian Method from this week’s discussion assignment. Explain Descartes’ view that the mind is a non-material substance separate from the physical body, leading to the mind/body problem of how these distinct substances interact. Support your explanation with citations from the textbook and online lectures, properly formatted in APA style.
Part 2: Compare and contrast Cartesian rationalism and at least one version of empiricism
Focus on a specific version of empiricism—such as classical British empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume)—and analyze how empiricists approach the mind/body relationship. Discuss key differences from Cartesian rationalism—namely, that empiricism emphasizes sensory experience as the source of knowledge rather than rational deduction. Provide detailed comparisons and contrasts, supported by scholarly citations.
Part 3: Responses to the mind/body problem: alternative theories
Select at least one alternative to Cartesian rationalism and empiricism—such as phenomenology, Kantian idealism, Spinoza’s monism, or Anne Finch—and explain how each attempts to address or resolve the mind/body problem. Analyze the philosophical strategies they employ, whether through emphasizing consciousness, unity of substance, or other means. Support your discussion with appropriate references, contrasting their views with those of Cartesian dualism and empiricism.
Part 4: Your philosophical response to the mind/body problem
Reflect on the theories discussed and the challenges of Cartesian dualism. Present your own philosophical
position on the mind/body problem—whether you lean toward a form of dualism, monism, physicalism, or another view. Discuss how your perspective aligns or diverges from the theories covered, and justify your stance with reasoned argumentation. This section should be 1-2 pages long, demonstrating critical engagement with the material.
References
Descartes, R. (1641).
Meditations on First Philosophy
Locke, J. (1689).
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
. Berkeley, G. (1710).
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
Hume, D. (1739).
A Treatise of Human Nature
. Kant, I. (1781).
Critique of Pure Reason
Spinoza, B. (1670).
Ethics
. Finch, A. (1701).
The Poems of Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea
.
Smith, J. (2015). Addressing the mind/body problem: Contemporary perspectives.
Journal of Philosophy , 112(4), 235-250.
Johnson, M. (2018). Phenomenology and the mind/body problem.
Philosophy Today , 62(3), 312-329.
Williams, P. (2020). Monism and dualism: Contemporary debates.
Philosophical Review , 129(2), 189-210.