AustLit

In summary, the mind-body problem represents an incompatibility in dualism — one which had not emerged in antiquity — that Descartes’ philosophical system does not solve through mechanistic means. Although Hobbes’ materialism succeeds in avoiding the mind-body problem altogether, it does not deliver a satisfactory conception of the mind as consciously aware. Spinoza’s monism, however, solves the mind-body problem because it does not need to address actual interactions between the mind and body. By separating thought and extension on an epistemological level, Spinoza ultimately provides a solid account of metaphysical human nature.