Ryle's criticisms of Cartesian Dualism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ryle's criticisms of Cartesian Dualism - Essay Example This extends to existence as having two separate planes, a material existence and a mental existence, with the two planes diametrically opposed to each other and separated profoundly, having no link of causation between the two. In the physical world, people can communicate, but the mental conscious world is completely hidden from view and unknowable by others. To the question of what kind of knowledge can be obtained by the mind's workings, the Cartesian dualist perspective asserts that consciousness is able to get a good grasp of the present workings of one's mind, which cannot be shaken as unreal, in spite of inputs by Freud with regard to some unconscious, subconscious impulses that can also govern the conscious processes. The data is presented within the immediate time frame, available to the consciousness or mind. Together with this data are the fruits of one person’s going into himself, introspectively, to examine his mind's contents as a kind of self-observation. The o ther, meanwhile, is not privy and is completely shut out of this immediate consciousness experience. Even language is said to reflect this view of consciousness as something innate and to which the external actions in the environment register and make impressions. Ryle calls this whole infrastructure of thought the ghost in the machine dogmatic formulation. He contests this dogma on several grounds and objects to its validity. Ryle testifies that the whole ghost in the machine infrastructure or theory of mind is completely false (Ryle, 1949, pp. 11-16) â€Å"I shall often speak of it, with deliberate abusiveness, as ‘the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine’. I hope to prove that it is entirely false, and false not in detail but in principle. It is not merely an assemblage of particular mistakes. It is one big mistake and mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category mistake (Ryle, Descartes' myth, 1949, pp. 15-16, Paragraph #2) The core of the objection is with re gard to the Cartesian view of the dualism of mind and body as a category mistake and a myth of the philosopher, meaning that in essence those mental processes are miscategorized and made to fit a category to which they do not belong. Ryle gives the example of the University tour given to someone who after being shown the facilities asks where the university is as if the university was in the same category as the buildings and the grounds, rather than constituting the entire of it. He cites another example of a first-time cricket game watcher, who mistakes team spirit as being in the same category of the different players and the positions that they occupy, rather than being constituted by the cooperation and camaraderie of the players in the team. These are examples of category mistakes, to which the philosophers subscribing to the Cartesian dualist frame of mind likewise succumb to. In the examples, Ryle notes that the problem lay with the perceivers having difficulty in grasping t he nuances of language and the limitations of their vocabulary. It is the same with an ignorant man perceiving the constitution as something magical and ethereal, or the fictitious John Doe in the same magical and ghostly terms, because that ignorant man is unable to get away from using the categories of thought that he is familiar with when dealing with physical presences concerning the idea of the constitution and of John Doe. In

Constitutional Rights before and after Arrest Research Paper

Constitutional Rights before and after Arrest - Research Paper Example The sixth Amendment done to the Constitution of United States is the part of the Bill of Rights which put forward privileges associated to the prosecutions of the criminals. An arrest causes the withdrawal of an individual’s freedom by a police man or any individual with an officially authorized permission. Usually an arrest takes place when a person is alleged of carrying out a crime and therefore should be taken into custody. â€Å"Because an arrest is in effect a â€Å"seizure† it must conform to the probable cause and warrant requirements of the Fourth Amendment†(Otis.H.Stephens). According to the author arrests are frequently made in accordance to warrants build on initial inquiries so it is given out by a judge on apparent grounds. A court permits the investigation of a criminal activity by issuing a court order also known as writ. Therefore any investigation or arrest without a legal warrant is unfair and unconstitutional. A person has the right to demand as to why he is being arrested and the kind of allegation against him. An individual must see the warrant to be certain that his name exists on it and to confirm the charges. Moreover the person has the right to be informed of his constitutional rights also known as â€Å"Miranda rights† before he is interrogated after the arrest. These include the right to remain silent and refuse to cooperate without the consultation of your attorney as the police can utilize those answers against the person seized in the court. If an individual doesn’t meet the expense of a lawyer, he has the privilege to get a public defender without any cost and discuss his case with the attorney before further proceeding with the investigation. A person can also say no to every physical or medical test such as breathalyzer, lie detector etc. he also has the permission to contact any relative or important person to inform them about his arrest and so is allowed to make telephone calls. A person ar rested with no warrant is required to be carried quickly before a court official for a credible hearing of the case. Most of the times suspects defend against arrest therefore the police might use physical force or violence to take them in custody. â€Å"The courts have generally recognized that the fourth amendment permits police to use only such force as is â€Å"reasonable† and â€Å"necessary† in effectuating an arrest† (Otis H.Stephens). Therefore the person being suspected should give in without much resistance and has the right to take legal action against the police if they violate this amendment. The fourth amendment has forbidden unfair investigations and seizures of individuals and their possessions without a legal warrant specifying the place to be explored or the person to be arrested. Now as discussed earlier the Fifth Amendment permits an individual to refuse giving a testimony that might convict himself both in judiciary and in answer to interrog ation by the police. It also contains the clause of â€Å"Double Jeopardy’ in which it is not allowed to condemn a person twice for the same allegation. The sixth amendment however points out rights that are relevant in every criminal trial such as the right to an immediate and open hearing by an neutral panel