Cartesian dualism - mental causation

11 Fevereiro 2026, 11:00 • David Yates

A discussion session on the problems of mental causation for dualists - including a priori problems relating to the overall coherence of Descartes' position and a posteriori problems relating to clashes between dualism and scientific principles such as the conservation of energy. Consideration of potential dualist responses to all these problems.

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Cartesian dualism

9 Fevereiro 2026, 11:00 • David Yates

This week we will introduce the relationship between mind and body, and this will be our focus for the first 4 weeks of the course. It would be very helpful to read at least one of the introductory articles listed in the syllabus during those 5 weeks. We will be discussing Cartesian dualism, including Descartes' conceivability and divisibility arguments for it, and the problem of mind-body interaction, which was first highlighted by Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia. 

Reading for this week is a very short article by Jen McWeeny: Princess Elisabeth and the Mind-Body Problem.

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