ABSTRACT
The stance one adopts regarding the nature of consciousness and on what can possess this property, depends upon one’s view of the nature of mind. A dualist such as René Descartes would view ‘souls’ (minds) and bodies as two radically different substances. Bodies, according to Descartes, have shape, mass and location both in time and space. Minds, on the other hand, although containing thoughts that have duration, do not share any other properties with bodies. This radical separation of minds and bodies led to the infamous mind/body problem. This is the problem of how two substances, so totally different in their natures, can causally interact, granted that minds do in fact affect bodies and vice versa. Descartes would not agree that animals are conscious since he held only humans have souls.
