Descartes’s Holenmerism: From metaphysics to phenomenology

Abstract

Descartes talks about the presence of immaterial soul in material body in multiple places in his writings and letters. Interpreters do not agree whether he had in mind substantial holenmeric presence of the soul or mere operational presence of the powers of the soul. I discuss both views in this paper, and argue that neither is plausible. The former turns out to be poorly motivated in the context of Descartes?s other metaphysical commitments and insufficiently textually supported. The latter is incompatible with Descartes?s understanding of the union of mind and body. I then offer reasons for the claim that Descartes, when talking about the presence of soul in body, puts forth a phenomenological rather than a metaphysical thesis.