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Single Idea 2303

[from 'Meditations' by René Descartes, in 17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 1. Dualism ]

Full Idea

There is a great difference between a mind and a body, in that a body, by its very nature, is always divisible, but the mind is utterly indivisible.

Gist of Idea

The mind is utterly indivisible

Source

René Descartes (Meditations [1641], §6.85)

Book Reference

Descartes,René: 'Discourse on Method/The Meditations', ed/tr. Sutcliffe,F.E. [Penguin 1968], p.164


A Reaction

This strikes me as being simply false. I don't just mean that surgeons can split the mind in half. We should think of the mind as a team of conscious and non-conscious processes, which are held together by a self in normal healthy people. Selves change.