Unit 6 Flashcards
(35 cards)
Dualism
Humans are a combination of 2 different aspects; the mind and body
Substance dualism
Humans are made of a combination of two substances; the mind and body are different substances
Monism
Humans are not made up of to different aspects, but rather one
Materialism
Humans are made of one substance which is the same regardless of whether or not one is discussing mind and body
Platos view on the soul
- the soul was a simple substance with no parts and was indestructible
- in his early dialogue (Phaedo) conflict is between soul and body not between different parts of the soul
- the soul consists of 3 elements: REASON (the higher soul), APPETITES (the lower soul) and WILL/SPIRIT that ideally should always side with reason
Platos analogy of the charioteer
- used to help us understand the different parts of the soul
- obedient white horse = will
-unruly dark horse = appetites that need reining it - the charioteer = reason
Platos theory of opposites
- argues that every quality comes into being from its own opposite, or at least depends on its opposite e.g. something is big because there are smaller things
- therefore life and death are existent opposites, and since the body is mortal and subject to physical death, the soul must exist as an indestructible opposite
Platos theory of recollection
- the soul comes into this world with knowledge gained from a previous life in a DISEMBODIED STATE e.g. example of a slave boy with knowledge of mathematical proofs
- plato concluded that our soul, which is immortal and eternal, must have inhabited a realm of ideas (the world of forms) before our birth, and still years to return to that realm after death as it is our true home
- so when we see variations of the forms in this world we recognise them through this process of recollection, or as plato puts it ‘what we call learning is only a process of recollection’
Aristotle’s view on life after death
- there is a soul that is closely united with the body
- rejects the materialist view as it doesn’t do justice to the formal (essence of an object) and final (telos of an object) causes which animates the soul.
- reject platos view of the form as it doesn’t do justice to sense experience
- when the body dies so does the soul
Artistotles analogy of the wax tablet and stamp impressed on it
The shape made by the wax is inseparable from the wax just as a soul is inseparable from the person
Descartes opinion on life after death
- the body is spatial and non-conscious whilst the mind is non-spatial but conscious, with feelings, thoughts etc.
- the mind and body are separate but interact
- a SUBSTANCE DUALIST
- he argued he could think away every aspect of himself except the act of thought itself, that he must be thought (i think therefore i am)
- the body is something controlled by the mind and external to it
- the body is machine-like with muscles as pulleys
Gilbert Ryle
- “ghost in the machine” used to refer to Descartes’ view on the mind/body
- he criticises the idea that mind is distinct from the body
- to refer to the mind and body as substances is a ‘CATEGORY MISTAKE’, substance from the body . It is wrong to categorise the mind as a separate substance
Life after death: resurrection
- best known example is Jesus within the Christian faith -> bodily resurrection, the belief that the physical body will be resurrected by god
- for catholics and most traditional believers, all will be resurrected on judgement day and those destined for heaven will have resurrected bodies
Key differences:
Immortal, impassible (no suffering), degrees of glory, ruled by the soul
Hicks replica theory
- a thought experiment posited by hick about the afterlife, he argues we cannot conceive of an individual without a body. Therefore in the afterlife there must be a body
- uses three different scenarios regarding the death of john smith and replicas of this man appearing with the same DNA, memories etc.
- he poses the question in each scenario as to whether or not we would accept this new replica as being john smith
Strengths of hicks replica theory
- fits well with his soul-making theodicy
- by stipulating only one replica at a time hick avoids the potential issue if obvious dualism within identity which would have resulted in a paradox
Criticism of hicks replica theory
- vardy argues a copy of something is not as valuable as the original
- Brian Davies stipulates that the argument does little to offer comfort
Reincarnation (Hinduism perspective)
- in Hinduism, the scriptures have teachings on reincarnation, life is a CONTINUOUS CHAIN of life and death known as SAMSARA
- the soul (atman) itself is independent of the body, the body can perish and is subject to change, whereas the atman is immutable
- karma, good and bad actions accumulate over many lifecycles and if enough good karma is achieved, the atman will eventuallly achieve moksha - freedom from the cycle
Evidence of an afterlife (Hinduism)
Deja vu
The boy who lived before
Criticisms of life after death
Lack of verifiable evidence
Rebirth
- upon death, the mind and body is given a new body and is born again, possibly in this world or another realm - no aspect of the previous being is transferred to the new one
- the end of the cycle of rebirth is known as nirvana, one must fully understand the nature of suffering, impermanence and no-soul - the 3 marks of existence
- there is no self in Buddhism, no soul, life is constantly changing and it is your mental processes that continue into the next life carrying impressions from this one
Criticisms of rebirth
If there isn’t a soul how is continuity from the old life to the new life possible
NDE’s
- the experience of a large number of individuals who have experienced death or come very close to dying, they claim to have experienced something beyond the grave and testify to this fact
Raymond moody
- identified 9 features of an NDE including:
Out of body experience
The tunnel
A life review
Peace
A light
Alternative explanations to NDE’s
- anaesthetics
- hypoxia
- temporal lobe epilepsy