The article explores the philosophical query of what thoughts are, rooted in the musings of 17th century philosopher René Descartes. It presents two main perspectives: physicalism, which posits that thoughts are material, akin to physical entities; and dualism, which argues that thoughts exist separate from the physical realm. This reflection is increasingly relevant with advancements in artificial intelligence, questioning whether machines can truly think. The article illustrates these concepts through a thought experiment regarding God's creation of the world, contrasting the implications of each philosophical stance on the existence of thoughts.
For Descartes, that we have thoughts may be the only thing we can be certain about.
The first is that thoughts might be material things... known as physicalism or materialism.
This view is called dualism, because it takes the world to have a dual nature: mental and physical.
If dualism is true, then putting in place the basic laws and physical components of reality will not produce thoughts.
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