Descartes and Elisabeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Descartes and Elisabeth - Essay Example In her letters, Elisabeth displays her interest in natural philosophy by asking Descartes how something immaterial- Descartes definition of the mind- could influence something immaterial in the form of the body (Clarke 328). She seeks for clarification in regard to the interaction as she notes that for motion to occur there must be impulse which requires contact or extension. Descartes reply to Elisabeth’s question intimated that the interaction was not to be thought of as between two bodies. To Descartes, this interaction could be likened to that interaction which exists between gravity and bodies. Descartes response to Elisabeth was inadequate. His correspondence on the union of the body and mind does not seem to answer the objections raised by Elisabeth. He seems not to have an exact definition and understanding of how the soul and body could interact. Descartes works on the mere assumption that the soul had the capability to do so. He does not substantiate how it does so. He appears to contradict himself by stating that the mind and body are distinct yet the union of the mind and body provides human beings with their