Trialism inphilosophy was introduced byJohn Cottingham as an alternative interpretation of themind–body dualism ofDescartes. Trialism keeps the two substances of mind and body, but introduces a third substance, sensation, belonging to the union of mind and body. This allows animals, which do not think like humans, to be regarded as having sensations and not as being mereautomata.[citation needed]
Cottingham introduced this term after noting that Descartes' account of sensation and imagination has placed his officialdualism under considerable pressure: "Partly as a result of this, we often see the emergence, in Descartes’ writings onhuman psychology, of a grouping of not two but three notions – not a dualism but what may be called a ‘trialism’."[1][2] According to Cottingham, Descartes added the third notion of sensation "alongside thought and extension without proceeding to reify it as a separate substance".[3] Thinkers such as Daniel Garber andTad Schmaltz supported this by citing a letter in the correspondence between Descartes andPrincess Elizabeth of Bohemia, which indicated that he changed his mind from a dualistic view.[4]
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