Evaluation

• The views stated in support of Plato's dualist ideas apply to Descartes' argument
• Challenge to first proof (Argument from Doubt):

  Most philosophers view consciousness or the mind as a product of the brain, which is itself a part of the physical body
• Challenge to second proof (Argument from Divisibility and Non-divisibility):

  Neuroscience shows a close correlation between mind and brain
• Challenge to third proof (Argument from Clear and Distinct Perception):

  Viewed by many as a circular argument
• Challenge from Hume:

  • The claim that consciousness comes from a non-material subject is in fact a circular argument
  • Thought may have a material explanation; this is also the most common view of mind in modern thinking
  • Since souls are not located in space, how do we know that there is only one soul
• Arising out of Hume's thinking, there is the view of many modern philosophers that the self is just an illusion. There is thinking, but there is no 'I' who thinks