Topic > The response of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz to...

From Descartes onwards many philosophers have discussed the problem of the interaction between mind and body. Philosophers have given rise to a variety of different answers to this question, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. These answers vary greatly. There is the idea of ​​total separation between mind and body, advocated by Descartes, which has become known as “Cartesian dualism”. This, of course, has given rise to one of the many main responses to the mind-body problem which is the exact opposite of dualism; monism. Monism is the idea that the mind and body are the same and therefore do not need interaction. Another important answer to the problem is the one given by Leibniz, more commonly called preordained harmony or monadology. Foreordained harmony simply states that everything that happens happens because God ordained it. Given the wide range of answers to the mind-body problem, I will only cover those provided by Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. I will also endeavor to show how each of these philosophers discusses what mind and body are and how each explains God's influence on the interaction between mind and body, for this is an interesting distinction between them, as is the important question of substantial role. This is important, I think, because it helps to understand the dialogue between the three philosophers. Descartes is a very well-known philosopher and has influenced much of modern philosophy. He is also commonly considered the father of the mind-body problem, so any article covering the major answers to the problem would not be complete without covering his argument. It is in Descartes' most famous work, Meditations, that he sets out his vision of dualism. Descartes argues that the mind and body are com... in the center of the paper ......de the body as a substance together, rather than separate. The topics are vast and widespread. There are still many other philosophers out there who have weighed in on this issue and who could not be covered in this article. As you can now clearly see, each of these three philosophers held a discourse with each other through their own works in which they tried to reconcile the issues that arose in the others. Interestingly, all of these philosophers used God in quite different ways to tailor their arguments to their needs. Furthermore, they all approached the idea of ​​substance in different ways, interpreting it with different meanings. So, in conclusion, neither Descartes, Spinoza, nor Leibniz have arguments on which they agree. Everyone has their strong points and their weak points. By modifying each topic I made them better fit my understanding and beliefs.