Dualism

I believe that we are beings composed of two substances like Descartes argued. However, unlike him I believe that these two substances are completely interrelated with one another, which is also known as interactionism. If it wasn't for our ability to combine both our physical assets (like the brain) with our mental ones (like the mind) we wouldn't be able to make simple decisions such as what to write for this blog. 

Due to the lack of knowledge during Descartes' time as to how the brain works, a lot was not properly understood (i.e the example given in the reading about the pineal gland). But now with the technology available to us, we can comprehend more about the way in which the brain works and all the connections that must happen in order for us to complete simple tasks.  

One way in which the brain and the mind work together can be seen in people who have had accidents and suffer trauma. Depending on the severity of the injury, some people have described feeling trapped in their own bodies. In a documentary “Coma” by HBO, a patient by the name of Tom is seen struggling to get his body follow simple commands such as “close your hand”. In an interview done a few months after he had regained both mental and physical strength, he explained how even though early on in his recovery from a coma he could understand what was asked of him; he still wasn't able to get his body to do what he wanted.

If we go back to Descartes’ argument of interactionism, one can see that in the previous example Tom needed both his physical asset (his brain) and his metal (his mind) in order to be able to complete the tasks that were asked of him. I strongly believe that one does not work without the other and with the help of both we become the people that we are.