Rene Descartes holds a dualist view that the mind and body are two totally separate entities. In response to this Gilbert Ryle has published an article showing that the argument, and its premises, of Descartes' Metaphysical Doctrine are incorrect. He does not show the premises, themselves, to be individually false, but instead shows that Descartes has simply made an error in his conceptualizations of the mind and body. In this paper I will show that Ryle's analysis of the Metaphysical Doctrine, and it faults, is correct. In addition, his arguments against the premises of the Doctrine are accurate and effective.

Ryle believes that Descartes has simply made a 'category error' in trying to explain the relationship between the mind and the body. A "category error" occurs when an individual is unable to grasp a larger concept and understand simple terminology. For example, a person may look at a closet full of clothes, yet still be unable to understand the idea of the wardrobe. He may see all the shirts and pants hanging, and all the shoes stacked up, but still be unable to see where the wardrobe is. This person has not grasped the concept that the wardrobe is not a separate, tan

The first premise of Descartes' argument leads directly to his first category error. While it is a valid statement, it does not apply to the relationship between the mind and the body because, as earlier stated, neither of the two can be viewed as one, individual item. The word item is simply a linguistic term, used to show a distinction between two separate concepts. This is where much of Descartes' error arose. He has taken an item to be a specific physical object, instead of just a word used to single out something. The mistake of considering the mind and the body to have comparable properties, and therefore be in the same grouping, is similar to the mistake the individual made when considering the closet and the wardrobe. Just as a shirt and wardrobe are not considered to be one, singular item, although a wardrobe may consist of only one, single shirt, neither can the mind or the body be considered individual things. They are simply two items, which are interconnect!

Descartes has made a similar 'category error' in assuming that the mind and body must be separate items. Ryle shows that although the two cannot be spoken of in the same manner, they are still interrelated: "Because, as is true, a person's thinking, feeling, and purposive doing cannot be described solely in the idioms of physics, chemistry and physiology, therefore they must be de

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Approximate Word count = 920
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)