# Separation of mind and body #seed Based on French philosopher René Descartes, the Cartesian philosophy separates mind from body, stemming from Descartes’ belief that the soul cannot be in direct contact to anything external to the body. There is a [[duality]] between the mental and physical (Cartesian dualism), in which they are both fundamentally separate and distinct from each other. Through this approach, [[perception]] is viewed as a mechanical function of man, and the external world is imagined through a physiological process. ##### References - [[oconnor2019WayfindingScienceMystery|O’Connor, M. R. (2019). Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World]] - [[robinson2020Dualism|Robinson, H. (2020). Dualism.]]