Mind, Soul, Brain

A more contemporary term for what Descartes presents in the Meditations is 'thought experiment', and a more contemporary version of it posits the possibility that one's brain is in a vat being stimulated to believe that one is e. g. sitting in front of fire.  But this version abstracts from the most significant detail of the original, the 'malicious demon'.  For the latter, which could also be called 'snake in the garden', connotes the possibility of error that is not merely intellectual, but moral and theological.  In other words, what Descartes is attempting in this thought experiment is a simulation of temptation to not merely err, but to sin.  Likewise, the aim of the experiment is not merely to avoid the formulation of a faulty hypothesis, but soul salvation.  Accordingly, a less noticed innovation in the work is a modification of the Ancient concept of Soul, which has both corporeal and incorporeal components, to that which is exclusively of the latter, i. e. Mind.  Thus the urgency for Descartes of establishing the substantial separation of Mind from Body.  So, while the brain in the vat image abstracts significantly from the original, i. e. is neither Mind nor Soul, the separation of 'Psyche' from 'Soul' in contemporary Psychology continues a Cartesian tradition, i. e. by studying only corporeal motivation.