Mind-Body Problem- Descartes

The discussion over the relationship between mind and body that has been intriguing philosophers for a long time is divided into two broad categories: dualism and monism. According to dualism mind and body are two separate substances. There are several types of dualist views including parallelism, epiphenomenalism, occassionalism and interactionism. John Locke and Rene Descartes are among those who laid the foundation of this idea. Whereas Locke and Descartes believed in Dualism, there were other famous philosophers and thinkers who supported monism. Monism refers to the theory that mind and body are inseparable and thus one is influenced by the other.

Aristotle, Hobbes, Hegel and Berkeley were some of the well-known theorists who believed in monism though their views differed slightly. Monist arguments were in direct contrast with dualist views but it is Philosophical writings of Rene Descartes (1596-1650) and his dualism theory that paves the way...
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