certain that this AI@ ...is entirely..distinct from my body and that it can ... exist without it@(Descartes 74). Descartes argument for this statement is seen in the following premises:1) If I can clearly and distinctly distinguish a from b, than I can be certain that a is distinct from b.2) I can clearly and distinctly distinguish my body from my mind. 3) My mind must be distinct from my body.Descartes believes that since the mind and the body are two different things, then they can exist separately. This is the theory of dualism. In the Sixth Meditation, Descartes continues with his discussion about the mind-body problem by addressing the relationship between the mind and body. Descartes states that Anature ...teaches me by these feelings of pain, hunger, thirst, and so on that I am not only residing in my body, as a pilot in his ship, but furthermore, that I am intimately connected with it...@(Descartes 76). This relationship is the connection between the physical needs of the body and the mental acknowledgment of those needs. Although the mind and body are blended, the mind is the most essential.Thomas Nagel approaches the mind body problem in a different manner. Nagel acknowledges that there is a close connection between mental life and the body, but he further questions the origin of our objective and subjective experiences. In response to the dualist theory, Nagel states that AI myself believe that though the truth of dualism of mind and body is conceivable, it is implausible@(Nagel 29). He further states that the main objection to dualism Ais that it postulates an additional, nonphysical substance without explaining how it can support subjective mental states whereas the brain can=t.@ (Nagel 29). Nagel is referring to the inadequate explanation for the complex processes that create mental states and consciousness. Instead, Nagel offers the dual aspect theory to explain the mind-body problem. Nagel=s dual aspect theory diff...
