Substance Dualism: Descartes, Spinoza and Berkeley

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3 pages in length. Man's timeline of existence has created a number of philosophical debates that - despite repeated attempts to reach a single answer - have served to perpetuate debate throughout the centuries. One of the most hotly challenged concepts that continues even today is that of substance dualism, the notion of mind/body, mental/physical as two distinct and separate entities in the universe. However, these substance dualists, who perceive their physical beings as external housing for their minds, are not without their critics. As such, a significant component of comparing and contrasting Cartesian mind/body interactionism and Spinoza's monism is incorporating some of the most notable names associated with the entire subject matter, not the least of which is George Berkeley. Without the fundamental concepts offered by other philosophers, Cartesian and Spinoza's contributions would have little upon which to reflect. Bibliography lists 4 sources.