Soul, Mind And Body

Question 1

What is platos view on the soul?

Answer 1

He put forward a dualistic understanding of the soul and body, meaning that the body and soul are two SEPARATE substances

Question 2

What is substance dualism?

Answer 2

The soul and body are two separate substances- physical (material) and non-physical

Question 3

Explain what plato said about the soul and the body

Answer 3

The body is the temporary, physical part of a person, but the soul is real, essential, immortal part of a person that never dies
The soul is reincarnated after death, leaves our body and moves to another body

Question 4

What happens to the soul before it reincarnates according to plato?

Answer 4

Prior to incarnation, and between incarnations, the soul goes to the world of forms where it witnesses true knowledge
For plato the soul is trapped (imprisoned) in the body and longs for liberation and escape to the world of forms. This is the souls goal

Question 5

How does Plato explain what happens in the afterlife?

Answer 5

The Myth of Er

Question 6

What happens at the start of The Myth of Er?

Answer 6

A soldier named Er appears to die in battle but comes back to life ten days later, unchanged. He recounts a journey through the afterlife where souls are judged—good souls are rewarded, and bad ones punished severely

Question 7

What happens to different types of souls in The Myth of Er?

Answer 7

Er witnesses souls choosing new lives; those previously rewarded often choose poorly, seeking power, while the punished choose more wisely. All souls drink a liquid to forget their past lives, except Er, who returns to share what he saw.

Question 8

What is platos argument from opposites?

Answer 8

Plato argues that every quality comes into being from its opposite
(something is light because there is darkness, hot because of cold)
He says that the body and soul are opposites

Question 9

Characteristics of the body and soul for Plato

Answer 9

Body- changes, decays and dies, physical, temporary, controlled by senses
Soul- unchanging, immortal, eternal, simple (Cant be divided), immaterial and non-physical

Question 10

What is Plato’s argument from recollection

Answer 10

Further evidence that the soul is a separate substance from the body is that I remember (recollect) the Forms – e.g. I remember the Form of Beauty when I see beauty in the world (a beautiful flower etc.)

Question 11

What was the slave boy- Plato

Answer 11

Plato illustrates his argument from recollection by telling a story about a slave boy who has had no education and is given a geometry puzzle to solve. Through questioning by Socrates, the boy is able to solve the puzzle

This illustrates that the boy is using knowledge he already had from before birth

Question 12

What does Plato say about inner conflict?

Answer 12

Plato says there are three aspects within the soul which are in conflict.
The soul is like a charioteer in charge of two horses. The charioteer represents ‘reason’ and the two wayward horses represent our emotions and appetites (desires)
Most people are pulled along by their emotions and appetites (desires). But, if our emotions take the lead they can get the better of us, and if our appetites (desires) take the lead we can over-indulge in pleasure
and become driven by greed or anger
The soul is in harmony when reason is in control

Question 13

What does Aristotle say about the soul?

Answer 13

Aristotle rejects Plato’s belief that the soul and body are two distinct substances. Using observation and sense experience he concludes that humans are made up of a body (matter) and a soul (psyche).
The body and soul are one single unity that cannot be separated from each other. This belief is called monism.

Question 14

Does Aristotle say the body and soul and separable?

Answer 14

No the body and soul and inseparable

Question 15

How did Aristotle illustrate his view on the soul and body being inseparable

Answer 15

Aristotle illustrates his view of the soul with a wax seal.
The imprint stamped into a block of soft wax is inseparable from the wax– it cannot be removed because the imprint and the wax are one single unity.
In the same way, the body and soul are inseparable - the soul cannot be removed from the body

Question 16

What is Aristotle’s view on life after death

Answer 16

On Aristotle’s understanding, the soul cannot exist without the body– so there can be no life after death
Go back to being a lump of matter

Question 17

How did he illustrate the soul Cant exist without the body

Answer 17

If we imagine an axe to be a living thing then its soul would be its capacity (ability) to chop wood (if it cannot chop wood it is pure matter). The capacity to chop would not have existence without the axe.
If we imagine the eye to be a living thing, its soul would be its capacity to see. The capacity to see could not exist without the eye.

Question 18

What is the body/soul relationship for Aristotle?

Answer 18

The soul is the Formal Cause of the body– it ANIMATES the body (gives it life). It organises the person from a potential living body into an actual living body - without this it would simply be bones, meat etc.

The soul is also the efficient cause of the body (it brings the body to life).
The soul is also the final cause of a human - the telos (purpose) of the soul is to live a good life.

Question 19

What is the hierarchy of the soul for Aristotle?

Answer 19

Aristotle believes that all living things possess a soul and souls are arranged in a hierarchy

Question 20

What are the 3 types of souls for Aristotle?

Answer 20

• A vegetative soul - which plants have, in that they have the capability to get nourishment/reproduce.
• A perceptive (sensitive) soul - which animals have, in that they have senses with which they experience the world, react to stimuli, distinguish between pleasure and pain.
• An intellectual (rational) soul– which humans have, in that they have the ability to reason and tell right from wrong.

Question 21

Why is Aristotle’s view on the soul successful?

Answer 21

• Monism fits well with modern scientific attitudes which see the soul as part of the brain’s activity (I don’t have to accept an abstract world of Forms).
• The fact that I have intention (to do something) supports the belief that there is more to me than just the physical (Elizabeth Anscombe).
• Aristotle’s argument that body and soul die at death explains the differences we observe when something dies.

Question 22

What is Aristotle’s view on the soul not successful?

Answer 22

• Aristotle’s views are difficult to demonstrate beyond doubt. Perhaps there is no need to assume that there is a soul.
• Humans have qualities beyond what is necessary for survival. Why do we have imagination, artistic skill, memory, story-telling, philosophical skills etc.

Question 23

What is consciousness?

Answer 23

Consciousness is best described as self-awareness – an awareness of who you are. Your thoughts, feelings, desires, imagination – an ‘inner self.’
Our consciousness is entirely private to us – we each have a unique, very personal perspective on our world.

Question 24

What is the mind/body problem?

Answer 24

The mind-body problem is about how the mind and the body relate to each other. The main issues are:
• How can something as strange as consciousness be explained?
• Is my mind separate from my body?
• If so, how do my mind and body interact?

Question 25

Who was Descartes?

Answer 25

Descartes was a brilliant, French mathematician and philosopher

Question 26

What was Descartes famous quote?

Answer 26

“I think there I am”

Question 27

What was Descartes new philosophical method called

Answer 27

Scepticism This is a questioning approach, which does not take assumptions for granted

Question 28

What was Descartes aims?

Answer 28

Wanted to find knowledge so certain that you can’t doubt it Descartes trusted mathematics (asleep or awake, 2+3 = 5) and wanted philosophy to have the same certainty. He set out to work out what could be known with certainty and what should be treated with scepticism.

Question 29

How do you get true knowledge according to Descartes?

Answer 29

To gain true knowledge you must question absolutely everything that you have ever believed Our minds are riddled with falsehoods – they feel so comfortable and familiar that it is difficult to know what is the truth. The only solution is to rid the mind of all beliefs and begin again, this time allowing only true beliefs to take root.

Question 30

What was the problems for Descartes?

Answer 30

If the mind and body are separate substances there needs to be an explanation of how they interact so closely

Question 31

What was Descartes solution to the mind-body problem?

Answer 31

After much head-scratching he finally announced that the meeting point of the body and the mind is a small gland in the brain called the pineal gland (a very small organ in the centre of the brain which at the time had no known purpose).

Question 32

Why did Descartes chose the pineal gland?

Answer 32

He chose this gland because there are two of everything else in the head (eyes, nostrils, ears, hemispheres of the brain etc.) but only one pineal gland which appears to be indivisible

Question 33

Why is Descartes view of mind and body successful?

Answer 33

✓ Descartes’ approach allows for the possibility of life after death – the belief of many religions. ✓ Descartes offers an explanation for how the body and mind interact. ✓ We talk as if we are more than just a physical body - we talk as though our minds and bodies are separate things (‘My hand’). ✓ The observation that the mind and the body have different properties so cannot be the same substance is a valid point as is his observation that the loss of a limb does not affect a person’s mind.

Question 34

Why is Descartes view of the mind and body not successful?

Answer 34

➢ Hume: being aware that we are thinking beings does not establish that our thinking nature is separate from our physical nature. Descartes merely asserts this. ➢ Descartes has only told us where the link between the mental and the physical is – not how it works. ➢ Medical research has now shown that the pineal gland does have a function (to secrete the hormone melatonin which regulates sleep) - therefore is unlikely to be the point of contact between mind and body as suggested by Descartes. ➢ Losing a limb often alters a person’s outlook on life / changes their personality – seen in survivors of traumatic events / war.

Question 35

What does Gilbert Ryle say?

Answer 35

Analysed the use of Descartes’ language to describe reality Ryle accuses Descartes of committing a category error

Question 36

What’s a category error?

Answer 36

Using language incorrectly; treating something as being of one type when it is of a different type

Question 37

What was the ghost in the machine Ryle

Answer 37

Descartes had linked the body to a machine (the muscles acting as ropes and cables) and had called the mind the pilot of the physical body, suggesting that the mind somehow ‘works’ the body. Ryle makes the point that it is impossible for an immaterial substance (ghost) to ‘work’ a machine (a material substance). In the same way, it is impossible for the mind to ‘work’ the body

Question 38

Explain one of the examples Ryle gives to explain one of Descartes category error (military)

Answer 38

A boy watching a military parade is told that a division will be marching by. The platoons, squadrons, batteries etc. are all pointed out to him. At the end the boy asks when the division will arrive The error: Military parade - the boy has not realised that all the units he has seen are collectively the division.

Question 39

What is Descartes category error

Answer 39

Descartes’ ‘category error’ is assuming the mind is a separate ‘substance’ from the body. ‘Body and mind’ is simply a description of the whole person The mind cannot be separated from the body There cannot be a survival of the mind/soul after death because the physical body no longer has any behaviour

Question 40

How does our language support Ryle (how we talk)

Answer 40

We talk about ourselves as if we are one whole person, body and mind. I am switching on the kettle – I don’t say My hand is switching on the kettle’ I have decided to make a cup of tea– I don’t say My mind has decided to make a cup of tea’

Question 41

What is materialism?

Answer 41

Materialism is the view that only physical matter exists – humans are only flesh, blood, nerves and cells:

Question 42

What does materialism believe about the body and the soul?

Answer 42

- There is no soul or separate mind. - When physical life ends, the brain dies and there is nothing left. There is no life after death. - All mental activity (thinking, decision making, opinions, intention, emotions, i.e. consciousness) takes place in the brain (a physical organ)

Question 43

What’s neuroscience and how does if help?

Answer 43

It’s the scientific study of the brain Science offers an evidence-based, empirical account of what the mind/brain is and how it works. Neuroscientists are increasingly able to explain both the brain and consciousness

Question 44

How does neuroscience prove Descartes wrong?

Answer 44

We know which parts of the brain are responsible for language, memory, emotions etc. This refutes Descartes’ idea because it suggests that there is no single place within the brain where consciousness happens, but that lots of processes make up our consciousness Materialists argue that all thoughts and behaviours come from signals among neurons

Question 45

What is the evidence for materialism

Answer 45

Medication is often used to treat or stabilise a person’s mood (e.g. to treat depression, Bi-Polar disorder etc.). This alters the chemistry of the brain and has a real effect on personality, mood and behaviour. This indicates that changes in thought etc. are purely physical.

Question 46

What are the 3 types of materialism?

Answer 46

Identity theory (reductive materialism) Property dualism Emergent materialism

Question 47

Whats identity theory

Answer 47

The view that the mind is identical with the body Mental processes are simply chemical reactions in the brain

Question 48

What’s property dualism

Answer 48

is the view that matter (the body) can have two distinct kinds of properties: physical and mental.

Question 49

What’s emergent materialism?

Answer 49

is the view that new properties emerge from physical matter as it becomes more complex. The mind and body are different, but not completely distinct.

Question 50

Who is an example of a materialist viewpoint?

Answer 50

Biologist Richard Dawkins strongly rejects the idea of the soul; consciousness is simply neurons firing within the brain. He distinguishes between two versions of the soul

Question 51

What is soul one for Dawkins

Answer 51

‘Soul One’: is the Platonic idea of a soul, capable of life after death and of knowing God. For Dawkins, this is an idea used by pre-scientific people which provided a convenient explanation of the mysteries of consciousness and allowed for life after death. He rejects this understanding of a soul, saying it is‘not an explanation but an evasion.

Question 52

What is soul two for Dawkins

Answer 52

‘Soul Two’: is a meaningful way of referring to personality, individuality, the intellect etc. (consciousness) - but is NOT a separate thing from the brain Dawkins argues that our consciousness is simply a rather wonderful aspect of evolution - mental processes give us an evolutionary advantage that help us survive and reproduce

Question 53

What’s the dualistic response to the problem of other minds

Answer 53

Dualists reject many aspects of neuroscience because it comes from an outside perspective. Human minds are full of individual, subjective, conscious experiences – qualia - which are entirely private to the person. For example: • I cannot feel your experience of love • I cannot know what the smell of cinnamon is like for you

Question 54

Difference between the mind and the brain

Answer 54

Brain: physical, made of blood cells and nerve cells, physical, defined structure and shape Mind: mental, Cant touch it, no shape or structure

Question 55

What are the responses from thesis about the mind and body - materialism

Answer 55

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7). This tells us that God gives humans their soul as a kind of ‘divine spark. ’Humans are made in God’s image’ – setting them apart because God put something of himself into each human.

Question 56

Strengths of materialism

Answer 56

✓ Materialism uses empirical, evidence based scientific methods and modern studies of the brain to shed light on the mysterious process of consciousness (however, an immaterial mind or soul cannot be detected nor verified). ✓ Neuroscientists know which parts of the brain are responsible for language, memory and emotions – and that there is no single place where consciousness happens, but many processes. ✓ Medication can alter our brain chemistry, demonstrating that changes in thought are purely physical.

Question 57

Weaknesses of materialism

Answer 57

➢ The problem of other minds. ➢ Neuro-science cannot fully explain consciousness. The brain does not choose to do something; nerve functions cannot have desires, opinions, intentions, emotions etc. ➢ The brain would be useless without the mind (there would be no consciousness). Perhaps this is evidence that the mind is separate from the brain. ➢ Are western philosophers biased against dualism, dismissing it without giving it the respect it deserves?