Dualism in action......

On a rare and productive trip to the gym this morning, I was idly watching the world go by out of the window and observed a young lad walking along a wall which ostensibly got higher as the steps got lower.  I was one step ahead of him and waited in great anticipation of what he would do when he got to the end and realised that the wall was too high for him to jump to the ground from. 

I was fascinated to observe him.  He reached the end, and I could see a clear calculation going on which seemed to sequentially involve eyes, message to brain, thought and finally action - to turn back!  It was almost in slow motion; he stopped, looked down, thought for a moment, made a calculation based on what he saw and turned around and went back to a spot along the wall where the stairs were higher so he could jump down safely.  So, his mind was assessing the risk and informing his body what to do.  Mind and Body working as a team to save a potential accident.  

Thinking about Descartes, I found the following of interest, visually a strong representation of what was happening to the young lad I observed.  I then applied the four steps that Decartes created as the route to all problem solving to the situation he was in (described below each point in brackets).

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Descartes four steps to solve all and any situations presented in life:

‘The first was never to accept anything as true if I had not evident knowledge of its being so; that is, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to embrace in my judgment only what presented itself to my mind so clearly and distinctly that I had no occasion to doubt it.

(There was no doubt at tall that if he jumped, the young lad would have injured himself)

The second, to divide each problem I examined into as many parts as was feasible, and as was requisite for its better solution.

(It seemed to me that the parts were observation, consideration, calculation and solution)

The third, to direct my thoughts in an orderly way; beginning with the simplest objects, those most apt to be known, and ascending little by little, in steps as it were, to the knowledge of the most complex; and establishing an order in thought even when the objects had no natural priority one to another.

(Orderly thinking: analysis and action, which concluded somewhat ironically in him returning to the ascended steps)

And the last, to make throughout such complete enumerations and such general surveys that I might be sure of leaving nothing out.

(He really thought it through even though it did not take long – he identified and evaluated the risk, and made a logical decision)

It was a great scenario to observe and gave me food for thought about how we function as human beings, and the amazing way that our minds and bodies are united as one great ‘machine’ with a powerful control system.    Descartes believed that a motion of the body was effected via having a thought – mind/body interaction – and what I witnessed today was, in my opinion, a perfect demonstration of this dualist philosophy.