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Descartes, Bloom and the duel of dualism

Luiz Guilherme Leite AMARAL1

When Descartes introduced the concept of Dualism, he was certain that this

idea answered the problem to most of his anxieties as well as the problem of the mind

and body. Given that these thoughts are philosophical speculations, once there is no

scientific evidence for such claims, nonetheless Dualism became one of the

foundations of modern religions.

The mind and the body become separate and yet inter-influential entities, and

that builds a structure to some other issues, such as consciousness, will and other

elements of the human nature. It also relies on the fact that if there is a part of us that

lingers on, then there must be a place where it goes when we perish. If we have a

mind that detach from us and a place where it goes for all eternity, we can assume that

these ideas came about to soothe basic existential crisis. “Where do we go”, “Why are

we here” and other questions may now be answered buy the principles of Dualism.

Paul Bloom, on the other hand, gives us a slight different understanding of this

concept of Dualism. While Descartes addresses his ideas to the existence, Bloom is

more concerned as if and how we develop the differentiation of body and mind and at

what stage of our lives. It doesn’t mean, though, that Bloom confronts Descartes

ideas. Rather, he gives one step further in this investigation. What Bloom offers is the

notion that, yes, human beings have this ability to think of themselves as a

combination of two greater elements: a body and a spirit. Moreover, it is shown that

human beings understand that there is a complex structure between the mind and the

body.

When children are asked if the rat inside the alligator’s belly misses its parents

of if it gets hungry, and they answer positively, even though they haven’t been

exposed to any magical thoughts like God, Jesus or souls, it get easier to understand

how these concepts are closer to a “common sense” rather than something that they

learnt during their lives. It doesn’t mean, though, that there is some kind of “belief

DNA” or something of that sort; it is an assumption that everybody makes once the

notion of the body is awaken.                                                                                                                1  Regular  student  on  the  Master’s  in  Communication  and  Culture  Program  at  University  of  Sorocaba,  Brazil.  Ministry  of  Education  CAPES  scholarship  granted  in  March  2015.  

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We can say, based on this analysis, that Descartes and Bloom came up with

notions that overlap more than collide. Descartes focuses on the existential crisis of

the human being, whereas Bloom is more concerned on how, when and why these

thoughts are triggered in us. It is fair to remind that Dualism is on the realm of

speculations. Just because the majority of the population think there is a God and a

soul, it doesn’t mean that it is true. This is called Argumentum ad populum, a common

fallacy of religions.