6.2 Points for discussion about life after death Flashcards
What do monists believe?
body and mind are linked in one substance
What do Dualists believe?
Body and mind are separate substances (and can influence each other)
What is Plato’s form of dualism?
- Body belongs to physical world and will eventually cease to exist
- Soul belongs to higher realm- non physical world, immortal
- Soul seeks to free itself from physical world and go to higher form of reality (world of forms), spend eternity conemplating the truth
- soul remembers world of Forms, we must reason over our physical desires to uncover these truths and balance the soul
What does Plato’s allegory of the cave mean?
we are trapped and tricked by out physical experiences of the world- must use reason to free our souls
What is Aristotle’s form of dualism?
- soul- ‘animating principle’ that gives life to the body
- soul and body dependent on one another- soul develops persons skills but can’t survive without body
- When body dies soul dies
What does monism- hard materialism believe?
- Humans made of one substance (physical matter)
- Mental events may not look physical but are
- Death ends physical body and nothing lives on
What does monism- soft materialism believe?
- Mental events/ thoughts do exist but can’t be reduced to a physical description
- Mental properties distinct from physical
- sometimes allows for possibility of God and Afterlife
- completely unique experiences
What is scientific materialism?
- Human survival= passed on from genes
- Illusion of soul- result of genes working together to wnhance human survival
- only way humans are immortal is through ‘memes’- cultural practices and symbols passed on to new generations
Who believes in scientific materialism?
Dawkins
What are the advantages of Dawkin’s scientific materialism?
- Uses evolution/ biology convincingly- function of human genes to further their own survival
- ‘memes’ easy to understand
What are the disadvantages of Dawkin’s scientific materialism?
- reduces what it means to be human to pure survival
- doesn’t explain how evolutionary process got there in the first place
- with no god, what is the point in humans reflectomg meaningfully on anything at all
How is life after death linked to moral reasoning?
- ability to make decisions using reason to decide what is the most moral thing to do
- summum bonnum
- God obliged to help us achieve the ‘complete good’ by granting us eternal life
What are near death experiences?
- people resuscitated after their heart stopped beating/ brain activity has stopped
share common experiences which could be proof:
- light
- dark
- feeling of peace
- out of body
- life flash before eyes
What is the scientific explanation for NDEs?
- Anasthetic drugs
- brain starved of oxygen causes hallucinations
- dying brain releases morphine- peace and joy
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
Give an example of an NDE
Ruby Graupera-Cassimiro
- died on operating table giving birth but came back to life
- heart stopped for 45 mins
Can you verify NDEs?
- YES: only experient can say, is life change physical proof?
- NO: Dr Susan Blackmore- scientific explanations prove not actually dying
synoptic link
Resurrection of Jesus- Morison and Wilson
