René Descartes: Dancing and Mustering Substances Cover Image

René Descartes: Dancing and Mustering Substances
René Descartes: Dancing and Mustering Substances

Author(s): Józef Bremer
Subject(s): Philosophy, Metaphysics
Published by: Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie
Keywords: methodological doubt; mechanical conception of human body; substantial dualism; mind-body problem

Summary/Abstract: This article addresses two of the fundamental issues present in the philosophy of René Descartes (1596--1650): (i) his division into thinking and spatially extended substances, together with both substantive and methodological aspects of his understanding of their character as a unity, and (ii) his conception of the human body as a machine. I shall illustrate these topics here using the example of Descartes' own military training in the army of the Prince Maurice of Nassau and, as a contrast to this, also his work in another area of highly trained human activity - namely, human dance. In speaking about dance I will not differentiate between its diverse types (individual, dancing with a partner, group dances, ritual, folk, Latin American, typical or non-typical style, mixed, etc.). I am only interested in dance as a form of continuous, rule-governed spatial movement by human subjects. I also have pretty much the same thing in mind when speaking about military training, that is, a form of continuous, rule-governed spatial movement on the part of its protagonists.

  • Issue Year: 20/2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 7-26
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English