Triessence

Descartes postulated that humans were composite beings, made up of a mind and a body. He found that he could make a good argument for his existence as a thinking entity, "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), but was uncertain that he could argue cogently for the existence of his body. He just didn't trust his senses enough to believe them. Like Scrooge, he viewed his body as too easily led astray by dreams and delusions. His view of humans as dual in nature followed the teaching of Socrates, as outlined in Plato's Phaedo, and should not be considered a Christian idea.

It is interesting that science has lately been emphasizing the notion that our bodies and souls are connected in more profound ways than Socrates or Descartes could have imagined. Neurologists and philosophers of the mind cannot discount the influence of the physical on how we emote and process ideas. This lines up with the Christian idea of the resurrection of the body. Not that anyone imagines that the actual cells wil be revitalized. Decay and dispersion happen. But the hope of the Christian is that the soul and spirit will live forever with a body that cannot decay, and that exists as a cohesive unit forever.

Why is the resurrection of the body important? Because it carries the idea that we will exist forever as individuals, as selves, and not as part of a blended soup of souls, part of one giant oversoul. The amazing fundamental of Christianity is that Jesus loves me, as an individual, just as I am. The resurrection of the body is the outworking of this transforming truth.