Mens etiam corporea dici potest (AT V, 223, 9-10) : une fiche

Abstract

We are attempting to give an account of the paradoxical argument developed by Descartes in his letter to Arnauld of 29 July 1648, arguing that mens etiam corporea dici potest (AT V, 223, 9-10). To explain its meaning, Descartes resorts to the scholastic theory of gravity, whose real physical meaning he disqualifies, while using it analogically to convey his thesis of a real interaction between the soul and the body.

Keywords

• gravity
• union
• soul
• body
• common notion