6.1 Life After Death Flashcards
Where does the word monism come from?
The Greek word MONOS meaning one
What are the beliefs of monism?
- 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 platos beliefs about dualism?
- the world is comprised of physical things/phenomena, but parallel to it is a METAPHYSICAL WORLD, made up of monumental 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 platos 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 way life after death can be evidenced?
- near death experiences (NDE’s)
- 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 NDE’s 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 ones 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 NDE’s?
- supernatural
- pharmacological
- neurological
- physchological
How can NDE’s 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
What is meant by the term ‘immortality of the soul’
This belief posits that the soul or spirit is separate and not dependent on a physical form of a body. It is immortal (living forever) and does not die in the same way in which physical bodies do
What is meant by the term ‘rebirth’?
The notion that upon death, the nama rupa (name-form, made up of the four mental elements) is given a new body and is born again, possibly in the world or possibly in another realm
What is meant by the term ‘reincarnation’?
This is the idea that souls and bodies are separate and upon the death of the body the soul will be given a new body, as the chain of life happens in continuous creation
What is meant by the term ‘replica theory’?
A thought experiment which gradually puts forward the idea of a replica following death. It posits an afterlife; as there is a death which occurs, the replica is occurring after the life of the individual. The theory also goes on to posit that such replicas could be in a realm of the afterlife.
What is meant by the term ‘resurrection’?
The returning to life of an individual who has died
What is the difference between the world of change and the world of forms?
The world of change is the physical world in which individuals can undergo physical changes. The world of forms is spiritual, not physical, and cannot be physically changed of affected
What is meant by the term ‘palingenesis’?
A term for the continuity of the life of the soul, known as rebirth at the beginning of each new life cycle
What is the term for the end of the cycles of rebirth?
Nirvana
Who put forward replica theory?
John Hick
What are the 3 qualities regarding resurrection?
Impassibility, glory/brightness, powerful
What is dualism?
The dualist view holds that human beings as an entity are a combination of two different aspects - the mind and the body are separate facets of humanity
What is substance dualism?
The substance dualist view holds that human beings as an entity are made of a combination of two substances, positing that mind and body are different substances
What is monism?
The monist view holds that human beings as an entity are not made of two different aspects, but rather one
What is materialism?
The materialist view holds that human beings as an entity are made of one substance which is the same regardless of whether or not one is discussing mind and body are
What impact might belief in an afterlife have on moral reason?
If an individual does not have a belief in the afterlife they might not feel the need to act in a moral way in order to achieve entrance to something they don’t believe in. Otherwise, they might feel it does not have an impact
What is a near death experience?
When an individual experiences death and experiences something of the other of the afterlife
What are Kenneth Rings five-stage continuums?
The feelings of peace; the feelings of separation of the spirit from the body; the feeling of entering darkness; the seeing of a light; entering the light
Give one criticism of the idea of near-death experience
The phenomenon could be explained by a lack of oxygen in the brain at the point of death
Give one strength of the idea of near death experience?
Cumulative evidence
What is the view of William James on evidence?
He argued that in some instances, beliefs which have a lack of evidence can be correct. The essence of truth behind a claim is not necessarily reliant on the presence of truth. There are life decisions and choices that we make on a daily basis that are made with no evidence provided
