6.1 and 6.2 life after death Flashcards
Where does the word monism come from?
- the Greek word monos meaning one
What are the beliefs of momism?
- the belief that the mind and body are one substance
- human beings as an entity aren’t made up of two different aspects but rather one
What are most monists?
materialists
What is meant by hard materialism?
- human beings are made up from only one substance, matter
- the ‘soul’ reduces to matter = there is nothing that can survive death
What is meant by soft materialism?
- there are subjective experiences that cannot be explained in material terms e.g. love
What does Richard Swinburne say about soft materialism?
- “soft materialism agrees with hard materialism that the only substances are material objects, BUT it claims that some of these have mental properties which are distinct from physical properties”
What are the ideas of Gilbert Ryle?
- The Ghost in the Machine = our personality isn’t a thing in itself, there is no ‘real you’, there is no ‘I’ - there is just a false impression of data
How does Richard Dawkins contribute to ideas about materialism?
- scientific materialism = consciousness and the sense of ‘I’ are a product of the genes to enhance the possibility of survival
- there are units of cultural understanding, memes, that are passed between beings
What are some challenges to Dawkins’ materialism?
- it explains nothing about why evolutionary processes exist in the first place
- to see the survival of DNA as the driving force is to ignore any possible deeper purpose of the process of evolution
- wouldn’t real self-awareness be better than the illusion of such
What is meant by dualism?
- the belief that the mind and body are two separate substances
- the mind and body work together in some way
What are Plato’s beliefs about dualism?
- the world is comprised of physical things/phenomena, but parallel to it is a metaphysical world, made up of nonumental things (the Forms)
- the perfect idea for a person lies within the soul, which is pre-existent and immortal
How does Plato define the soul?
- it is the bridge between the physical world and the world of the forms
How does Aristotle revise Plato’s dualism?
- the soul/psyche is the animating principle of the body; the presence of the soul within the body was the differentiating factor between a dead body and a live one (the formal cause)
- with death, the body AND soul cease
What are the different ways life after death can be evidenced?
- Near-death experiences (NDEs)
- the moral argument
What is meant by the moral argument?
- is the making of moral choice dependent on belief in an afterlife?
What did Raymond Moody do?
- in his book ‘Life after Life’ (1975), he identified 15 key features of NDEs that were consistent in a study of >100 people
What were the 15 key features Moody identified?
- ineffability
- hearing oneself pronounced dead
- feelings of quiet and peace
- hearing unusual noises
- seeing a dark tunnel
- being outside of one’s body
- meeting spiritual beings/entities
- experiencing a bright light
- panoramic life review
- experiencing a realm in which all knowledge exists
- experiencing cities of light
- experiencing a realm of bewildered spirits
- experiencing a supernatural rescue
- sensing a border/limit
- coming back into ones body often reluctantly
What are the different explanations for NDEs?
- supernatural
- pharmacological
- neurological
- physchological
How can NDEs be explained in supernatural terms?
- some suggest they are the work of Satan
What is Moody’s response to supernatural explanations?
- it seems unlikely as people came away encouraged to perform good works
How can NDEs be explained in pharmacological terms?
- NDEs can be caused by doing drugs
e.g. ketamine
What is Moody’s response to pharmacological explanations?
- drug induced NDEs are more vague and have no long term impact
How can NDEs be explained in neurological terms?
- some patients suffering from neurological conditions claim that they have seen their life flash before them
What is Moody’s response to neurological explanations?
- they have no fruits, the review isn’t remembered
How can NDEs be explained in psychological terms?
- NDEs are similar to isolation experiences - deprived of the key senses and experience hallucinations
What is Moody’s response to psychological explanations?
- this is plausible BUT isn’t satisfactory - just substituting one mystery for another
What is meant by the immortality of the soul?
- the belief posits that the soul is separate and not dependent on a body - it is immortal
- dualistic
What does Plato argue about the immortality of the soul?
- the immortality of the soul can be compared to the sleep/wake cycle: souls must reincarnate in order to participate in the cyclical structure of physical life
How does Plato’s ideas about the soul impact his view on what happens after death?
- the soul is a pure entity; the body may be corrupted BUT the soul remains intact
- there is no evidence that the death od the physical body results in the death of the soul itself therefore the soul is immortal
What Aquinas do in his case for the immortality of the soul?
he derives seven proofs
What are Aquinas’ 7 proofs?
- we are able to concieve of abstract ideas
- we have ideas of different realities not materially based
- we drive towards immaterial goals
- we can examine our own knowledge
- we want to live forever
- there have been ideas and stories about souls
- we share an idea of a moral law
Who are the key figures of Christian thought on the immortality of the soul?
- Origen
- Augustine
- Aquinas
- St Paul
What does Origen argue?
- human sould existed before the body and are imprisoned in the physical world
What does Augustine argue?
- “the soul is therefore called immortal, because in a sense, it doesn’t cease to live and to feel”
What did Aquinas argue?
- the soul is a conscious intellect and cannot be destroyed
What does St Paul argue in the Bible?
- Romans 2:5-7 = Paul says to ‘seek immortality’
- HOWEVER the term “immortal souls” appears nowhere in the Bible
Where does the idea of reincarnation come from in Hinduism?
- the Vedas
- the chain of life happens in continuos creation
What is the cycle of reincarnation?
- it is known as Samsara, its goal is moksha meaning freedom from the round of reincarnation
What is the point of reincarnation?
- the soul/Atman moves through the cycle, developing and perfecting with the aim of becoming on with Brahman
How is the process of reincarnation governed?
- by karma; the good or bad consequences of your actions may therefore be felt in the next life rather than in this one
- therefore in life a person must work to develop their character
What is meant by moksha?
- moksha is a final release from a person’s worldly conception of self, where the chains of being imprisoned in a physical form are loosened
What is meant by rebirth?
- rebirth is a form of reincarnation belief, exemplified in Buddhism
What is meant by rebirth?
- there is continuity between each incarnation BUT not identity
- a person has no permanent self
What did Buddha teach about the idea of self?
- Buddha taught the doctrine of anatta(no self)
- a person is in a state of flux
What are we made up of, according to Buddhism?
5 skandhas
What are the 5 skandhas?
- physical matter
- sensations
- perceptions
- volitions
- consciousness
What is the end of the cycle of rebirth?
- in order to achieve nirvana individuals must understand the nature of ultimate reality: dukkha (suffering), annica (impermance) and anatta
What is meant by resurrection?
- the concept of life returning to the body/being which has passed away; life has both ended and been returned to the deceased
What is meant by the resurrection of the body-soul?
- Christian teaching that Jesus’ resurrection was physical (Mt 28, Lk 24 and Jn 20)
- on judgement day we acquire an immortal body of glory that will enter afterlife (1 Corinthians 15:54)
What kind of body does Paul argue for?
- immortal
- impassable
- powerful
- glory
