Joseph R.

Lumactod August 9, 2019

Stem-182 Philosophy
FUNCTIONALISM

My stand in this paper is I believe in Subjective Idealism; Subjective Idealism is the

best theory in the mind and body problem because the abstract things exist, and the body exist
only in the mind but not a physical body rather as an Idea only.
Idealism is a theory under Monism in which we believe in only one substance which is
the mind. To solve the Mind and Body problem as an idealist, you need to remove one premise
which is the body is a physical thing.
Under the belief of Subjective Idealism, the matter or the physical world does not exist
and it is just an illusion made by our mind. Our mind only makes us think that we have this body,
but it is not physical because this is just an idea. So, my question is how can I touch you if you
are just an abstract idea? My counter argument is I can touch you because my mind thinks that I
can touch you. My mind can control my body which tells me that I can touch you or I can feel
you and everything we see.
So, if your mind only exist how about other people? Yes, their mind exist too under
Subjective Idealism that is called intersubjectivity. It is the idea in which our minds interact with
each other and can share knowledge between both of us.
Since every abstract thing exist, This, theory believes in God according to George
Berkeley. God is the representation of the origin of our ideas. He is the origin of the ideas and
our minds. But according to him, the existence of God is not yet seen because it is beyond the
capacity of our minds.
How about when we dream or imagining things? The answer is our minds can think that
we are dreaming. Dreams are just a simulation of our mind. It is different from reality because
the mind doesn’t have a hold of our senses, so it is just a dream.
Since all the things are abstract, dying is impossible for us. Spirit and soul is immortal
and when we die, we only removed the idea of having our non-physical body. We can choose to
reincarnate and live in another body
Overall, for me, Subjective Idealism is best theory because it both have the idea of the
minds and the idea of having a non-physical body but still can interact with other minds.