Why is mind-body dualism problematic?
Do people have both a separate mind and a separate body?Even though most people feel that having a separate mind and a separate body is intuitive, this philosophical notion is problematic. It does not seem to be workable.
The first problem is with the mind-body interaction. If the mind is a mental substance and the body is a physical substance, how do they interact? Two physical objects have surfaces and, therefore, they can interact by touching, pushing and shoving each other. However, the mind and body are not alike. The body has a surface because it is physical, but the mind is not an object and does not have a surface to make contact with the physical body. This means that, because they are so different, they do not seem to have a way to interact with each other.
The second problem is the allocation of certain attributes. For example, it is easy to say that thinking belongs to the mind and muscle motion belongs to the body. But, what about seeing? Does it belong to the body or does it belong to the mind? Since eye injury can cause blindness, a lot of people would think that seeing requires the eyes, which means that it is a physical trait. However, people do see during dreaming when their eyes are closed. They also see during out-of-body and near-death experiences. So, it seems that the eyes are not necessary to see visual images. Of course, seeing cannot be strictly a mental trait either because of the possibility of blindness without the eyes. So, it is unclear whether seeing is a mental or a physical trait.
Some people say that maybe seeing is both a mental trait and a physical trait. This seems simpler. If the person has a body, eyes are required. If the person does not have a body, mind is required. This sounds like a great solution. However, if the mind is enough, why do people have bodies then? What is the point of having a body? After all, the mind has a chance to survive death and the body does not. So, why do people have bodies in the first place? It seems superfluous. Therefore, this is not a solution to the dilemma either.
Mind-body dualism has always been problematic for philosophers. As intuitive it may sound to people, it is difficult to make it work.
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