Anne Conway: neither a Monist nor a Dualist
Pierrès, Raphaël
Anne Conway: neither a Monist nor a Dualist - 2025.
100
In The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy, Anne Conway elaborates a new conception of the mind in relation to the body. It is usually construed as monistic, as Conway challenges the substantial distinction between body and mind. However, those stand in relations of possession (having), and transformation (becoming). A rereading of Conway as a gradualist allows us to delve deeper into the question of “Cartesian dualism” contrastively, by analyzing the motif of a natural institution. Going further than the Cartesian contribution, Anne Conway suggests that life and figure are two attributes of the same substance: on the one hand, the body can pass through successive degrees of perfection in its becoming spirit; on the other, life and figure are distinct but not contrary attributes. Figure serves life: thus, the particular figure of the eye serves vision. The notion of figure makes it possible to think about the articulation between passivity and activity in perception, and more broadly in life. From this point of view, Conway escapes the dualistic and monistic labels in one fell swoop.
Anne Conway: neither a Monist nor a Dualist - 2025.
100
In The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy, Anne Conway elaborates a new conception of the mind in relation to the body. It is usually construed as monistic, as Conway challenges the substantial distinction between body and mind. However, those stand in relations of possession (having), and transformation (becoming). A rereading of Conway as a gradualist allows us to delve deeper into the question of “Cartesian dualism” contrastively, by analyzing the motif of a natural institution. Going further than the Cartesian contribution, Anne Conway suggests that life and figure are two attributes of the same substance: on the one hand, the body can pass through successive degrees of perfection in its becoming spirit; on the other, life and figure are distinct but not contrary attributes. Figure serves life: thus, the particular figure of the eye serves vision. The notion of figure makes it possible to think about the articulation between passivity and activity in perception, and more broadly in life. From this point of view, Conway escapes the dualistic and monistic labels in one fell swoop.
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