Soul, mind and body Flashcards
(32 cards)
What does Aquinas say, in Summa Theologica?
‘my soul is not me’
man is a ‘composed of soul and body’
What is dualism?
belief in two seperate elements- body and soul
what is substance dualism
two elemets - body and soul- and they are wholly different substances
what is materialism?
one substance and it is material
what is monism
one substance, not two
what is reductionism
everything can be reduced to statements about physical bodies
what is behaviourism
all mental states are simply just learned behaviours
what is platos view of the soul
if permanence cannot be found in the material world, then it must exist in another world
the soul is immortal and seperate
the soul is essential and immaterial
platos divisions of soul
rational
spirited
appetitive
what is platos analogy of the charioteer
charioteer- rational soul, takes charge
white horse- spirited
black horse- appetitive, dies with body
success of plato?
can help understand personality traits and individuality (link to freud)
major influence on christian- still doesnt mean not incorrect
plato negative view on body?
the body is the source of endless trouble .. and takes from us all power of thinking at all
(link to analogy of the cave)
needs food
filled with fear
fills us with love and lust
disease/illness
weakness of plato?
problem arises as all 3 are seen as necessary- black horse dies so is soul incomplete?
what is descartes?
a substance dualist, rationilst
descartes argument?
is there any knowledge so certain that no one may doubt it?
senses can be easily mislead and experiences mistaken
even this material world may be an allusion,
so, cogito ergo sum ‘i think therefore i am’
descartes in meditations 6
a body by nature is divisible, but the mind is not
(link between the 2 is in the pineal gland)
gilbert ryle
category mistake, ‘ghost in the machine’
what is a category mistake
putting something in the wrong category
ghost in a machine - mind does not pilot the body, the body itself is a seperate mechanism
what examples does ryle use to show category mistakes?
seeing colleges, libraries + asking where is the univerity
watching a cricket match with players and umpires + asking where is the team spirit
who is peter geach
critic of dualism
geach quote?
‘it is a savage superstition to suppose’ that dualism is true
who is anscome
critic of dualism
a ‘bodily act is an act of man qua spirit’
both the body and mind are needed
further problems with dualism?
how can a spiritual mind influence material body and vice versa
amputees still feel phantom pain
