self death and the after life

Question 1

what was platos view on the existence of the soul ?

Answer 1

Plato was a dualist and believed in the world of forms. Plato argued that everything in the physical world can decay and is finite, so for all of these finite things there are meta-physical counterparts in the world of forms. So whilst the physical body is a part of the real world and can be destroyed the soul is in the world of forms and cannot be destroyed - non-material and cannot be destroyed.

Question 2

what is a dualist

Answer 2

a dualist is someone who believes that the mind (soul) is comprised of imaterial substance, while the body is comprised of material substances

Question 3

what is a materialist

Answer 3

we a re made of material matter only

Question 4

how did Plato illustrate this viewpoint within his analogy of the cave

Answer 4

Plato’s analogy of the cave depicts 3 chained up prisoners facing a cave wall. Behind them is a path that leads through the cave on which people walk and carry goods. Behind this path is a fire which lights up the cave. On we wall in which the prisoners face they can see shadows of the people walking past luminated by the fire.
Such prisoners would mistake appearance for reality. They would think the things they see on the wall (the shadows) were real; they would know nothing of the real causes of the shadows.
This illustrates how knowledge is not just what we see and hear and can be much greater - this illustrates the issue with relying upon empirical evidence.

Question 5

what was Aristotle’s view upon the soul

Answer 5

Aristotle believed that everything had a soul and used logic and reason to deduct this. Aristotle believed that our soul is what animates us. Aristotle observed the difference between a corpse or an inanimate objects and and living thing, Aristotle decided that what maked us alive (having a soul) is what makes us live - so our purpose-

Question 6

what was Aristotle’s analogy of the eye that helped him to illustrate this point

Answer 6

Suppose the eye was an animal, sight would be its soul as that is its purpose - when seeing is removed the eye is no longer an eye but just a name. - the human soul is reason that is our purpose and what gives us a soul

Question 7

what was Descartes main argument

Answer 7

Descartes argued for substance dualism and that as people we have two essential properties
-res extensa (extended substance )
-res cognita ( mental substance )

Question 8

what was Descartes argueing for in his three proofs

Answer 8

Descartes was arguing for the concept that the mind /soul and physical body were seperate substances

Question 9

describe descarts first proof

Answer 9

• i can doubt by body exists as my senses can decive me
• i cannot doubt my mind exists as to doubt is to think and if i can think then my mind exists
  “i think therefore i am “
  -so because i can doubt my body and not my mind they are distinctly different

Question 10

what is descartes second proof

Answer 10

• all physical bodies are extended in space and are therefore divisible

-the mind is not extended in space and therefore isnt divisible

• so the mind is radically different from the body

Question 11

what is descarts third and final proof

Answer 11

descartes final proof

-whatever i can distinctly percive as two different things was created by god as too different things

• i have a clear perception of my mind as a non-extended thinking thing
• i have a clear perception of my body as an extended non-thinking thing

henceforth they are differnent

Question 12

list three different problems with descartes arguement for substance dualsim

Answer 12

• gilbert ryle - ghost in the matchine (in his book ‘the concept of the mind’) - here ryle acuses descarts of making a category mistake. To illustrate what a category mistake is ryle gives the example of someone going on a tour of a university and at the end of the tour saying “ive seen the liberay, the dorm, the lecture halls, but where is the university,” this is a category mistake - descartes inccorectly accounts the mind as a substance - ryle believes that this is incorect and in fact the mind is not a substance.

David Hume also critised the concepts presented by Descartes in his substance dualisum - Hume accuses Descartes arguemnt of being circular. Hume believes that effectivly what descarts is saying is that ; a asubstance can think because it has a soul and a soul is a thinking substance ‘ - it actually tells us very little and can be seen as a circular arguement.

a funtionalsit would argue against descartes theory of the mind - without the body there is no mind - this can be seen as when the body is damaged e.g car crash then the mind can be effected as a result

Question 13

what is physcialism

Answer 13

basically the same as a materialist - just everythings is matter

Question 14

what is dualsiuwhat would a functionalsit view upon the mind be

Answer 14

functionalsium is a physical theory of the mind - viewing the mind as akin to a computure system - made for the soul purpose of collecting and processing data from the world around us.

Question 15

Descartes spends his entire arguemnt showing how the mind and body are completly different, so how does descarts suggest that these two substances interact

Answer 15

descarts suggests that the mind and soul interact in a small part of the brain called the pineal gland.

Question 16

why does this explanation not work

Answer 16

this explanation is bad because it says where they interact but no HOW so not much of a good expanation then is it.

also many believe that the pineal gland has been misreferenced, at the time of descarts the functiuon of the pineal gland was unknown however now it is seen as the part of the brain which regulates are day and night cycle.