Ideas from 'Objections to 'Meditations' (Fifth)' by Pierre Gassendi [1641], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Philosophical Essays and Correspondence' by Descartes,René (ed/tr Ariew,Roger) [Hackett 2000,0-87220-502-9]].

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17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 2. Interactionism
Things must have parts to intermingle
                        Full Idea: If you are no larger than a point, how are you joined to the whole body, which is so large? …and there can be no intermingling between things unless the parts of them can be intermingled.
                        From: Pierre Gassendi (Objections to 'Meditations' (Fifth) [1641]), quoted by Jaegwon Kim - Philosophy of Mind p.131
                        A reaction: As Descartes says that mind is distinct from body because it is non-spatial, it doesn't seem quite right to describe it as a 'point', but the second half is a real problem. Being non-spatial is a real impediment to intermingling with spatial objects.