Arguments Against DualismIntroductionThe debate over the true nature of human beings, the existence of free will, and the validity of science centers on two philosophical theories; dualism and materialism. Under dualism, proponents believe that there are two types of matter that make up human beings: the physical presence and the non-physical spirit or soul. Materialism, on the one hand, proposes that man and matter are one and the same and therefore no other non-physical entity can exist. Materialism is one of the major theories that greatly oppose dualism. Arguments Against Dualism Before proceeding to critique dualism, it is imperative to first understand the arguments advanced by dualists regarding the exact nature of their theory. Descartes was one of the main proponents of this theory. Dualists generally believe that things exist or are composed of two different things or entities. Descartes believed that when it came to human beings, two attributes existed; the physical part that speaks, walks and exists, the physical body whose existence can be seen and empirically proven and the spirit or soul which is an entity that cannot be seen but is believed to exist. It is the autonomous part of the physical body. Descartes then went further to illustrate that human beings or matter pursue their own affairs and follow their own laws until the mind/soul intervenes, which interferes with the physical nature of humans. He therefore believed that the mind and body of human beings were two distinct elements. Hobbes, on the other hand, tried to rationalize philosophy using dualism. He proposed that to understand societies one had to understand what the medium of paper was at the time, but this was later shown to be false. Why is Descartes' reason so infallible that his reasoning can be considered absolute truth? The critiques involved in both dualism and materialism, such as they exist, cannot be taken as global truths. Confidence would only emerge where philosophers combined aspects of each theory while leaving aside their flaws. For example, it would be productive for dualists to be empirical in their claims instead of simply stating their beliefs without any evidence. As for materialists, they should not just criticize by supporting their criticism with concrete evidence. The best method would be a scientific approach in which theorists emphasize the acquisition of concepts and the acquisition of evidence to support them. This would exclude the possibility of questioning the truth of a matter.