ABSTRACT
There are a number of interlocking themes in the seventeenth-century discussion of the relationship between mind and body. A number of ancient and medieval philosophers subscribed to the view that minds are more exalted than bodies. Minds are the most perfect kind of thing, and so if a benevolent and omnipotent being would create the finest universe possible, bodies would presumably be left out of the mix. In the Sixth Meditation argument, Rene Descartes has already made a lot of epistemic progress in the Meditations and so has done the philosophical and conceptual footwork that allows him to recognize that minds are immaterial substances. A critical juncture in the thinking of seventeenth century philosophers is the question of mind-body union and interaction. Some philosophers embrace the view that if minds and bodies are united and come into contact then both must be material.
