Philosophy 210/310 Early Modern Philosophy  Andrew Mills'  Homepage Course Resources Homepage Dept. of Religion and Philosophy

The Argument for the "Real Distinction" between the Mind and the Body (9th paragraph of the Sixth Meditation)

Taken from Georges Dicker, Descartes: An Analytical and Historical Introduction
 

1. If I can clearly and distinctly conceive X existing in a certain way, then X can really exist in that way, at least by God's power.

        This follows from the clarity-and-distinctness criterion of truth
 
2. If I can clearly and distinctly concieve X existing apart from Y, then X really can exist without Y, at least by God's power

        This is just an instance of (1)
 
 
3. If X really can exist without Y, no matter by what power, then X and Y are really two different things.

        The idea here is that the mere possibility of separate existence implies actual
        distinctness
 
4. If I can clearly and distinctly conceive X existing apart from Y, then X and Y are really two different things.

        This follows from (2) and (3), taken together
 
5. I can clearly and distinctly conceive of myself, a thinking and non-extended thing, existing apart from my body, an extended and non-thinking thing.

        This is the most important premise.  This claim that Descartes has a clear and distinct
        idea of himself as a non-extended thing seems unwarranted.
 
6. I really am a different thing from my body

        This follows from (4) and (5), taken together
 
7. I can exist without my body, at least by God's power.

        This follows from (2) and (6), taken together