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Self and Life After Death

Descartes, the Soul and Radical Doubt

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1

Overview

Recall questions on what the soul is taken to be and on the steps of Descartes' method of doubt and what it leaves standing.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

How does Descartes argue that mind and body are distinct substances?

Key term

What is the soul understood to be in philosophical discussions of self and death?

Key term

What distinction does Descartes infer from his cogito argument about the nature of mind and matter?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the soul understood to be in philosophical discussions of self and death?

    Model answer

    The immaterial, non-physical aspect of a person that constitutes their essential self, distinct from the physical body.

  2. 2

    In Descartes' method of radical doubt, what is the first step he takes?

    Model answer

    He applies systematic doubt to all his beliefs, questioning everything that could possibly be false.

  3. 3

    What does Descartes recognise about the physical body when applying his method of doubt?

    Model answer

    He recognises that the existence of the physical body can be doubted, since sensory experiences could be deceptive.

  4. 4

    Why does Descartes conclude that the act of doubting itself cannot be doubted?

    Model answer

    Because the very process of doubting requires thinking, and one cannot doubt without engaging in thought.

  5. 5

    What famous conclusion does Descartes reach through his method of radical doubt?

    Model answer

    'I think, therefore I am' (cogito ergo sum), the certainty that he exists as a thinking thing.

  6. 6

    What distinction does Descartes infer from his cogito argument about the nature of mind and matter?

    Model answer

    He infers that the thinking thing (res cogitans) is distinct from extended matter (res extensa).

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