# Ep. 398: Donald Davidson on Mind vs. Body (Part One)

An episode of [The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/318345767), 17 Aug 2026, 52 min.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/802/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/partiallyexaminedlife/PEL_ep_398pt1_7-28-26.mp3?dest-id=16399

On "Mental Events" (1970) and "Actions, Reasons, and Causes" (1963), w/ guest Chris Heath. When we talk about mental events (e.g. desires) causing physical occurrences (an action to obtain what is desired), are we giving a causal picture in the scientific sense, which would rule out free will? Or are reason-giving and causality just different language games? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Every self-made person started somewhere. Yours starts free at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's fall philosophy of mind class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

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