ABSTRACT
Many twentieth-century philosophers hold views that were first held by Descartes. Descartes's thought will continue to be relevant to at least one aspect of contemporary scientific endeavor. Given that Descartes was not informed by today's scientific advances, details of his views about the separation between mind and body may seem unrefined. But reworking of Cartesian dualism still plays a significant role in today's debates. Various contemporary philosophers have employed some intriguing thought experiments to defend versions of Cartesian mind–body dualism. However, there is a difference between Descartes's original formulation of dualism and contemporary defenses of it. Descartes had intended dualism to limit the domain of physics to matter, to advance the cause of "mechanical philosophy". Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy remains an indispensable part of the canon of Western philosophy. No education in the humanities or liberal arts can be complete without engaging with Meditations.
