Smack bang in the middle of your brain sits a tiny structure called the pineal gland, which has puzzled neuroscientists and philosophers for centuries. Among those to speculate on the role of this little blob was one René Descartes, whose suggestion that the soul sits within it kickstarted one of the most stubborn pseudoscientific theories of the past few hundred years. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The idea that “I think, therefore I am” forms the basis of Cartesian dualism, the influential strand of philosophical logic that states that the mind and body are two completely separate entities. Put forward by Descartes in 1637, the concept illustrates that we can be sure that we exist in essence, even if the entire ph

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