Last time, I alluded, in a footnote, to an “elsewhere” wherein William Blake clarifies his mind/body dualism position. I have since been cadged by the masses into both clarifying myself and citing my sources. This quote comes from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, plate IV (which I linked to in my previous post, before getting into the guts of the interpretation):
All Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following Errors.
- 1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a Soul.
- 2. That Energy, call’d Evil, is alone from the Body, & that Reason, call’d Good, is alone from the Soul.
- 3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.
But the following Contraries to these are True
- 1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul for that call’d Body is a portion of Soul discern’d by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
- 2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
- 3. Energy is Eternal Delight.
You can find the full text of the work here. I think Blake’s position here augments my previous discussion without much need for further explanation and analysis