The Concept of Dualism - Essay Example

Chapter Nine Summary Chapter nine introduces the concept of dualism, which is the belief that there are two principles of reality - mind and matter, or what is invisible as opposed to what is visible, and unchanging in nature to the always changing. Plato contends that Forms, or conceptual thoughts, are wholly real as they are independent of outside influence and were not caused by anything else. As such, they are perpetually unchanging. The author uses the example of the existence of cobra snakes, stating that conceptual thoughts about cobras would mean that cobras are not physical objects, but matters of the mind.

This notion takes on an absurd twist when the author states that cobras would then not exist if someone were not thinking about cobras. However, cobras existed before people began thinking and talking about them. This prompts Plato to argue that conceptual thoughts exist outside the material and human thought, placing them in a state of permanence and the physical object in a state of impermanence. Though Plato argues that material objects aren’t as real as Forms, he states that objects do contain some degree of reality, which introduces his concept of metaphysical dualism.

This portion of Plato’s philosophy is that someone cannot fully comprehend reality until they grasp that reality consists of two independent components that cannot be explained in terms of the other - mind and body, which is referred to as mind-body dualism. This theory states that a human being consists of an immaterial mind and a material body. One cannot exist without the other; our immaterial soul travels to new bodies between each cycle of life and death. Plato’s dialogue is discussed, which outlines how Plato views the mind and body in terms of the invisible and visible.

The material things that can be explored with the five senses are material, whereas the immaterial things are invisible. The human body, being visible, is considered to be material, and the soul and the mind, or the intellect are immaterial since they cannot be perceived by any of the senses. By categorizing the body and mind in this way, Plato is able to reveal how the soul is able to survive death while the body succumbs to the destruction associated with death. The soul is an unchanging entity while the body is subjected to a myriad of changes over time.

Along with this mind-body dualism, Plato also argues that there are various degrees of reality. We normally consider reality in terms of what is real and what is not real. However, Plato argues that a mirror image has only a small degree of reality compared to physical objects, which have a slightly larger degree of reality, and then the Forms, which are the ultimate reality. Similarly, Plato also argues that there are different degrees of knowledge, each of which is connected to the degree of reality of the object or thing.

Each level of reality comes with a different degree of knowledge and a means of knowing. This concept is outlined in the chart on page 91, which explains the connectedness of objects of the worlds of intelligence and appearances and the states of mind, and that there is a line between worlds. The allegory of the cave is used to show how there are people that claim to be knowledgeable but are so to a certain point and others that have knowledge on a universal level. Those in the former category tend to accept their perceptions at face value while those in the latter category see reality as it truly is.

This allegory also speaks loudly of the human situation in how people are content with being ignorant. They are happy with the false lives that they have created for themselves that they become resentful toward people who attempt to show them the full extent of reality. As the author states, “We are comfortable with our prejudices and do not want them disturbed” (98).