Abstract

Descartes's philosophy of mind does not reduce to the mind-body dualism of his Meditations. Indeed, we can find a certain theory of consciousness scattered throughout his writings; though the term „consciousness‟, understood as phenomenal consciousness, is not part of his vocabulary. His dualistic ontology is a consequence of the conceptual limitations and the metaphysical preconceptions of his time. However, Descartes‟s theory of perception, his concept of „mind‟, his theory of ideas, and his theory of the passions form a sophisticated theory of human experience commensurable with contemporary theories of consciousness.