Cogito Ergo Sum
René Descartes
“I think, therefore I am.”
Cogito In Dualitate Ergo Sum Bis
Mens Legi Manet, Corpus Exit Ad Noctem
In silent realms where thoughts reside,
The mind drifts free, a spectral tide.
Unbound, with flesh below, it soars and glides,
A shadowed flight where hides two sides.
The central claim of what is often called Cartesian dualism, in honor of Descartes, is that the immaterial mind and the material body, while being ontologically distinct substances, causally interact. This is an idea that continues to feature prominently in many non-European philosophies.
forget being in two minds
if you can’t even keep in your head the one
you better get up on that astral plane
with a lasso and a gun
mind and body split
Ryle’s ghost in the machine—
duality opposed
British philosopher Gilbert Ryle coined the phrase 'ghost in the machine' in his book, The Concept of Mind (1949), as a description of René Descartes' mind–body dualism.
Please conceive
The concept of a concept
If you don’t mind
An abstract, abstract idea
Like one abstruse or obtuse
Who paints in wet concrete
Where detail cannot be clear
emotion shapes thought lines
code awakens unseen
heart in circuitry shines
In more recent times, the term has developed several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part of the human mind is influenced by emotions; and within fiction, for an emergent consciousness residing in a computer.
mind within a shell
an echo in the ether
ghost and gears entwine
The mind is no longer a solitary wanderer.
Emotions weave through intellect,
shaping thoughts with a human touch.
Fiction gives rise to new possibilities,
consciousness sparks within circuits,
blurring lines between organic and digital realms, hinting at futures where minds are both born and built.
Gilbert Ryle's critique of René Descartes' mind-body dualism underscores a pivotal shift in philosophical thought. By challenging the notion that mental and physical activities operate in distinct realms,
Ryle highlighted the problematic nature of isolating the mind from the body. This perspective invites an integrated understanding of human experience, suggesting that mental processes are not separate from physical actions but are deeply intertwined with our bodily existence. Ryle's argument thus paved the way for more holistic approaches in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, emphasizing the unity of the human organism.
Ghost In The Machine Day
Angels on the sideline
Puzzled and amused
Why did Father give these humans free will?
Now they’re all confused
Don’t these talking monkeys know that
Eden has enough to go around?
Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys
Where there’s one, you’re bound to divide it
Right in two
Angels on the sideline
Baffled and confused
Father blessed them all with reason
And this is what they choose?
Monkey killing, monkey killing, monkey over
Pieces of the ground
Silly monkeys
Give them thumbs, they forge a blade
And where there’s one, they’re bound to divide it
Right in two
Right in two
Monkey killing, monkey killing monkey over
Pieces of the ground
Silly monkeys
Give them thumbs, they make a club
To beat their brother down
How they’ve survived so misguided is a mystery
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability
To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here
Gotta divide it all right in two
Gotta divide it all right in two
Gotta divide it all right in two
Gotta divide it all right in two
Fight till they die over sun, over sky
They fight till they die over sea, over air
They fight till they die over blood, over love
They fight till they die over words, polarizing
Angels on the sideline again
Benched along with patience and reason
Angels on the sideline again
Wondering where this tug of war will end
Gotta divide it all right in two
Gotta divide it all right in two
Gotta divide it all right in two
Right in two
Right in two
The Twisting Tail 