Trialism
Trialism in
Background
Cottingham introduced this term after noting that Descartes' account of sensation and imagination has placed his official dualism under considerable pressure: "Partly as a result of this, we often see the emergence, in Descartes’ writings on human human psychology, of a grouping of not two but three notions – not a dualism but what may be called a ‘trialism’."[1] [2] According to Cottingham, Descartes added the third notion of sensation "alongside thought and extension without proceeding to reify it as a separate substance".[3] Thinkers such as Daniel Garber and Tad Schmaltz supported this by citing a letter in the correspondence between Descartes and Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, which indicated that he changed his mind from a dualistic view.[4]
Christian trialism
Christian trialism is the doctrine that humans have three separate essences (body, soul, spirit), based on a literal interpretation of
References
- ^ Cottingham, John (1985). "Cartesian trialism". Mind. 94: 218–30. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ISBN 9781527503434.
- ISBN 9780199226979.
- ISBN 0674198409.
Sources
- Cottingham, J. Cartesian Trialism, Mind, 1985.
- Njikeh, K.D. Derician Trialism: The Concept of Human Composition into the Mind, Submind and Body Substances/Components, International Journal of Philosophy, 2019.
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