Dharmakirti

Mind/Matter and Mind/Body dualism - In philosophy of mind Excerpted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism In philosophy of mind, dualism is any of a narrow variety of views about the relationship between mind and matter, which claims that mind and matter are two ontologically separate categories. • In particular, mind-body dualism claims that neither the mind nor matter can be reduced to each other in any way, and thus is opposed to materialism in general, and reductive materialism in particular. Mind-body dualism can exist as substance dualism which claims that the mind and the body are composed of a distinct substance, and as property dualism which claims that there may not be a distinction in substance, but that mental and physical properties are still categorically distinct, and not reducible to each other. • This type of dualism is sometimes referred to as "mind and body" and stands in contrast to philosophical monism, which views mind and matter as being ultimately the same kind of thing. • The belief in possessing both a body and a spirit as two separate entities was first documented in approximately 1000 B.C. by Zoroastrianism, and has become a very common view in the present day. In Samkhya philosophy • Correctly distinguishing between Self (Spirit/Consciousness Purusha) and Matter/Nature (Prakriti) is of central importance to Samkhya Philosophy. In Vedanta philosophy • The Vedanta philosophy is divided into dvaita (dualistic) and advaita (nondualistic). Neither propose dualism in mind and matter. While the dvaita philosophy distinguishes between atman and brahman, the advaita philosophy looks at everything as Brahman. In Buddhist philosophy • During the classical era of Buddhist philosophy in India, philosophers such as Dharmakirti argue for a dualism between states of consciousness and Buddhist atoms (Buddhist atoms are merely the basic building blocks that make up reality), according to "the standard interpretation" of Dharmakirti's Buddhist metaphysics. • Typically, in Western philosophy, dualism is considered to be a dualism between mind (nonphysical) and brain (physical), which ultimately involves mind interacting with pieces of tissue in the brain, and therefore, also interacting, in some sense, with the micro-particles (basic building blocks) that make up the brain tissue. • Buddhist dualism, in Dharmakirti’s sense, is different in that it is a dualism between not the mind and brain which is made of particles, but rather, between states of consciousness (nonphysical) and basic building blocks (according to the Buddhist atomism of Dharmakirti, Buddhist atoms are also nonphysical: they are unstructured points of energy). Like so many Buddhists from 600-1000 CE, Dharmakirti’s philosophy involved mereological nihilism, meaning that other than states of consciousness, the only things that exist are momentary quantum particles, much like the particles of quantum physics (quarks, electrons, etc.). Soul dualism • In some cultures, people (or also other beings) are believed to have two (or more) kinds of soul. In several cases, one of these souls is associated with body

functions (and is sometimes thought to disappear after death), and the other one is able to leave the body (e.g. a shaman's free-soul may be held to be able to undertake a spirit journey). The plethora of soul types may be even more complex. In philosophy of science • In philosophy of science, dualism often refers to the dichotomy between the "subject" (the observer) and the "object" (the observed). Some critics of Western science see this kind of dualism as a fatal flaw in science. In part, this has something to do with potentially complicated interactions between the subject and the object, of the sort discussed in the social construction literature. In contemporary feminist theory • A theory relating to dualism and a contemporary feminist world view is presented by Susan Bordo. Bordo contends that dualism has shaped Western culture since the time of Plato, through Augustine and Descartes, up to the present day. • All three of these philosophers provide instructions, rules or models as to how to gain control over the body, with the ultimate aim of learning to live without it. The mind is superior to the body, and strength comes from disregarding the body's existence to reach an elevated spiritual level. • Bordo believes that the influx of various patterns of disordered eating, particularly the overwhelming rise in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, is the most telling and compelling argument that dualism is central to modern thinking. Furthermore, Western dualism is an adulterated form of historical philosophical dualism, an artificial mode of hegmonic power regulations. To cognitively and practically adopt the mode of Western dualisms is often a dangerous and oppressive way of looking at the world. • For example, those who are anorexic seek to gain ultimate control, and depriving oneself of food makes one a master of one's own body, which creates a sense of purity and perfection. Again, Bordo contends that this stems from dualism, the mythological separation of the mind and body. • Ecofeminist philosopher Val Plumwood argues in Feminism and the Mastery of Nature that a logical thought process inherent in the dualistic relationship is necessary to justify exploitation and oppression of the other. • The formation process of these ideologies is apparent within the five characteristics of dualisms. They are: • Backgrounding—The master denies the essentialness of and dependency on the other. • Radical Exclusion/ Hyperseparation—All differences between the groups are made to have positive and negative connotations. Continuities between the master and the other are denied. • Incorporation—The master creates the norm, and the other is seen as substandard. The other cannot be independently identified, but is dependent on the master for its specification. • Instrumentalism—The other is objectified and made an instrument or resource to the master. The other must set aside its own welfare to serve the master. • Homogenization/Stereotyping—This is necessary within each of the two groups to reinforce and naturalize the differences between the groups.