Materialism Flashcards
What are materialists’ view of the soul?
Materialists argue that there is no separate spiritual or immaterial entity that exists independently of the body. Instead, they believe that all thoughts, emotions, and experiences can be explained by the workings of the physical brain.
What is Richard Dawkins view of the soul?
Dawkins argued there are two types of soul – one valid the other invalid. Dawkins thinks that everything about us, including our minds and consciousness, is nothing more than biological processes in our body and brain.
What is soul 1?
Soul 1 is the view that the soul is a real thing separate from our body, which Dawkins rejects due to lack of evidence.
What is soul 2?
Soul 2 is a metaphorical idea of the soul, as a metaphor for the deep part of our mind and personality where the essence of our humanity is.
What is David Chalmers criticism of Dawkins
Chalmers points out that neuroscience has made progress as solving the easy problems of consciousness but has not come close to solving the hard problem. He suggests that explaining consciousness will require discovery of something new which is radically different to anything we currently understand.
What is Skinner’s view of the soul?
Psychologist, Skinner was a behaviourist, a materialist who believed that behaviour is influenced by its consequences and that the environment plays a role in shaping behaviour. Skinner’s ideas involved reinforcing desired behaviours and using punishment or removal of reinforcement for undesired behaviours.
Explain Ivan Pavlov and his dog experiments
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time that they were given food. Pavlov’s research paved the way for understanding how learning and association influence behaviour.
What is the materialist argument of magnetic scanners?
Neurologists can point to fMRI scans which correlate some mental states with certain patterns of activity in the brain.
How does materialism use Ockham’s Razor?
Materialists argue that the consciousness being explained by physical and material events in the brain is the simplest explanation. This uses the philosophical principle of Ockham’s Razor, which argues that the simplest explanation is typically best.
How does the materialist viewpoint avoid the problem of interaction?
The materialist viewpoint, unlike the dualist argument, avoids the problem of interaction, as it does not assume the interaction of two incompatible substances.
What is the problem with behaviourism?
Critics argue that behaviourism fails to account for mental states, emotions, and the complexity of human thought processes, which cannot be explained solely by conditioning and external influences.
What is the hard problem of quale?
The challenge of explaining subjective experiences / qualia from a purely scientific standpoint. It is difficult to understand how physical processes in the brain can give rise to the rich range of subjective experience we have.
How can materialism be seen as dangerous?
Christian Scholar Keith Ward argued that there is a danger in taking the materialistic view.:
Morality becomes a matter of choice, due to the fact of no afterlife / post - death consequences.
Humans have no purpose in life / makes life meaningless.
Challenges with the sanctity of life
