Responding to the Objections of Analytical Physicalist Philosophers to Cartesian Substance Dualism in the Mind/Body Problem, Based on Mulla Sadra's Theory of the Corporeal Origination of the Soul

Subject Areas : Epistemological researches

Alireza Esmaeili ^{1 *} , naeme poormohammadi ²

1 - Department of Philosophy and Islamic Theology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
2 - Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Department of Philosophy, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

Received: 2025-08-03 Accepted : 2025-09-20 Published : 2025-11-22

Keywords: Soul-body relationship, Substance dualism, Physicalism, Theory of corporeal origination, Mulla Sadra's psychology ,

Abstract :

According to Cartesian substance dualism, humans are composed of two independent and distinct substances: the body or physical matter, which is incapable of thought and whose essence is spatial extension, and the mind/soul, which is non-physical, lacks extension, and whose essence is thought or consciousness. In this approach, the soul and body are so intertwined during earthly life that each can influence the other. However, with the death and disintegration of the body, the soul continues to exist. Although Descartes' theory faced objections in his own time, it has been subjected to numerous criticisms in contemporary Western philosophy, particularly by analytical physicalist philosophers. These objections include the "problem of necessary contact," the "problem of pairing," and an issue based on the "principle of the closure of physical causes." 

This article, while explaining Cartesian dualism and presenting the aforementioned objections to the soul/body substance dualism, seeks to evaluate aspects of Mulla Sadra's psychology and his theory of the corporeal origination of the soul to address the objections raised by physicalists against substance dualism. It argues that, based on Mulla Sadra's theory, instead of understanding the soul and body as two separate substances, they should be understood as a single substance with an essential unity. This research highlights some strengths of Sadra's explanation in confronting physicalist approaches and demonstrates its advantages over substance dualism in explaining the mechanism of the soul-body relationship. 

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