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Rene Descartes: Self, Identity, And Mind

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If you were to ask an individual what their perception of the self is, you would get a variety of answers but mainly along the lines of, the self is an inner being that one possesses. For many years philosophers have attempted to find the answer of what exactly is the self and how it relates to the brain and mind. There are two important philosophers I will discuss in this essay; whose ideas and thoughts vary in comparison to what the knowledge of a self is. Descartes and Locke are two philosophers that have many thoughts and concepts to offer towards self, identity, and consciousness. Rene Descartes, commonly known as the “Father of Philosopher” seeks to find if the self exists. In Meditations on First Philosophy, he meditates on various …show more content…

The mind is a conscious, thinking unextended substance, meaning it cannot extend through space or time. The body is extended but not conscious. This makes the mind distinct from the body because something cannot simultaneously be extended, and unextended, conscious, and unconscious. The mind gives us our identity, the mind we are born with is a mind that will remain the same until death and is not easily influenced by experiences. Each person handles situations differently, which is how is mind is different from the next. John Locke, another seventh century philosopher seeking to prove the answer to the thought-provoking question. What does being the person you are consists of and how does it relate to the body and mind? Locke was against Descartes’ accusations that the self is within the body. Locke believes that memories and life experiences define personal identity. “All ideas come from sensation and reflection; all knowledge is founded on experience.” This can be further analyzed to determine that Locke believes in the conscious, but he believes that the conscious is always changing due to uncontrollable life experience. Put simply, the way you express your self is determined by the memories you make and the trials and tribulations you are experiencing. For example, if a person is constantly experiencing hardships in their life due to a broken leg …show more content…

I felt as though some of Locke’s thoughts were contradicting to each other. For instance, he believes that the mind and the body have no relation to each other, in fact they exist as one. Though it makes more sense to me that the mind and body do have relation to each other because they work together interchangeably. Simply because my thoughts and physical movements are always reacting to each other. If I were to break my hand, my initial thought would be pain. I would likely show physical bruising or redness and still feel pain. This is how I have proved to myself that the consciousness and body are separate from each other but work also in relation to the

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