Dualism in the Opinions of Descartes and Rumi

This article investigates and compares the views of Descartes and Rumi regarding the duality of the soul and the body and their interaction from the perspective of ontology and epistemology. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that Rumi is a dualist from an epistemological point of view and a monist from an ontological one, whereas Descartes is both epistemologically and ontologically a dualist. Descartes believes in the existence of two substances, namely the soul (the essence of the thinker) and the body (the material essence); and above them he believes in God. In his opinion, the soul and body are not only conceptually distinct in the mind (epistemology), but also in the external world (ontology). In his method of philosophical theorization, which should possess internal consistency, clarity, and distinctiveness, Descartes fails to provide a convincing justification on the interaction between the soul and the body and their substantial union — which is the historic problem of dualism. In contrast, Rumi’s method — which is faithful, religious and an expression of his inner and mystical experiences and whose goal is to achieve wonder, not clarity — has no problem in the explication of his opinions.