Body mind and soul

Question 1

What is dualism?

Answer 1

the belief in a separate body and soul

Question 2

what did plato believe on the soul?

Answer 2

• The soul and the body are separate substances
• At death, the soul separates from the body and returns to the realm of the forms. It resides in the Realm of the Forms until it is born into a new body on earth.
• Plato believed that how a person lives their life now directly impacts on their soul. If they get into bad habits then this will have a negative impact on the soul and its reincarnation in later lives.

Question 3

How does Plato use the charioteer analogy to define the soul?

Answer 3

-The soul (the charioteer) is made up of the mind (horse one) and the body (horse two).
- The soul represents reason, the mind represents emotion and the body represents appetite.

Question 4

how does plato view the soul?

Answer 4

• Contains hopes, motives, opinions, and emotions
• Has to keep the body and mind balanced
• The immaterial essence of a person
• Is immortal and unchanging
• Is a source of truth as it contains innate knowledge of the forms
• Must be trained to remember the forms and to be virtuous
• Has the ability to know the truth through reason

Question 5

How does plato view the body?

Answer 5

• Belongs to the physical world
• Bodily needs can get in the way of the soul’s quest for truth if given too much time
• Is mortal
• I am a body vs I have a body - suggests we are more than a body so it is separate to the soul

Question 6

How does plato view the mind?

Answer 6

• Needs to be controlled
• Has to recall the realm of the forms

Question 7

What did descartes argue?

Answer 7

○ Descartes argued that we have a clear and distinct idea of ourselves as a thinking thing
○ He used hyperbolic doubt (extreme doubt) to realise that he could doubt everything except the fact that he was a thinking being as doubt is a form of thought
○ This led him to come up with “I think therefore I am”
○ He believed that the body is divisible but the mind is not, meaning the mind cannot be destroyed as only divisible things can be destroyed.
○ He argued that minds and bodies have different properties so are distinct.

Question 8

What did descartes believe connected the mind and body?

Answer 8

the pineal gland

Question 9

How does Leibniz’s law support Descartes?

Answer 9

○ Leibniz’s law says that if two things have exactly the same properties then they are one, not two. If they are different properties then they are two. For Descartes, the mind and body have different properties and so are two distinct things.

Question 10

What did descartes call physical substances ?

Answer 10

res extensa (as they are extended in space)

Question 11

What did descartes call mental substances?

Answer 11

res cogitans

Question 12

How does the Masked man fallacy undermine descartes?

Answer 12

just because you doubt something doesn’t mean it isn’t true

Question 13

What are the strengths of Plato’s dualism? (5)

Answer 13

• NDEs eg Pam Reynolds
• evidence of innate knowledge (slave boy)
• Past lives show soul reincarnation
• Plato argues that everything in nature has an opposite. e.g. hot is opposite to cold. We only know something is hot because we have experienced cold so one comes from the other. Therefore, death has an opposite life and life’s opposite is death. Death comes from life and life from death.
• Plato argued that the body is divisible but the soul is not. This is because the soul is unseen and so is simple. To destroy something, it had to be broken into parts. As the soul has no parts it can not be destroyed.

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of Plato’s dualism? (5)

Answer 14

• NDEs explained by lack of oxygen to brain
• no concrete evidence for ROF
• Past lives unreliable - could be made up
• Plenty of things are not brought about by their opposites e.g. black does not bring about white.
• Lacewing - Destruction does not have to come from breaking something into its separate parts. If something has come from nothing (like the soul) then it could be destroyed by being annihilated back to nothing

Question 15

What are the strengths of Descartes’ dualism? (5)

Answer 15

• Descartes argued that we have a clear and distinct idea of ourselves as a thinking thing and we also have an idea of ourselves as a body which is a non-thinking thing. This shows that we are distinct from our bodies.
• we can often have thoughts without displaying them through our bodies.
• Descartes argues that the body is divisible (I could take my arms and legs off etc.) but the mind is not divisible. This means that the mind cannot be destroyed as only things that are divisible can be destroyed.
• Can doubt body as senses are unreliable, but cannot doubt mind as to doubt it to think
• Descartes argues that minds and bodies have different properties and so are distinct. An essential property of anything existing in space is to have parts, so the body, existing in space must have parts. However, the mind is not in space and therefore has a different property which is thought, it does not have parts. Therefore, mind and body are distinct.

Question 16

How does Swinburne support Descartes?

Answer 16

He said that it is logically possible to think of ourselves without a body, therefore, we could be without our bodies. For example it is logically possible that we could move objects without using our bodies. If we can be without our bodies, then we are not our bodies.

Question 17

How does Davies support Descartes?

Answer 17

Davies points out that we often talk about ourselves as though we are not our bodies. For example, we often say that we have a body, not that we are a body. We also recognise that we are the same person over many years, even though our bodies have changed.

Question 18

What is a weakness of Descartes?

Answer 18

Just because we may talk about ourselves as having a distinct mind and body, it does not follow that we do have a distinct mind and body.

Question 19

How does Ryle criticise Descartes?

Answer 19

Gilbert Ryle would argue that just thinking something does not mean it is true is a language category mistake. He referred to Descartes mind as the “ghost in the machine”. Descartes is using the term “mind” as though it is separate but really it is a term to cover physical things like our thoughts, personality etc. He has misused language.

Question 20

How does Davies criticise Descartes? (6)

Answer 20

• Our thoughts about ourselves can be wrong
• Eventually we will show through our bodies what we are thinking.
• Argues how do we know that our mind is not divisible? For Example, if our body is chopped up, how do we know that our mind is not chopped up?
• Argues that just because you doubt something, it does not mean that it is not the case.
• Argues that just because something is logically possible, it does not mean that it is the case. He gives the example that it is logically possible for him to escape death by drowning, but it does not mean that he will escape death by drowning.
• Furthermore, is it possible to conceive of ourselves as disembodied? To be a person is to engage in activities which would be impossible without a body.

Question 21

How does Hume criticise Descartes/support Davies?

Answer 21

Hume says that we may be aware that we are thinking beings but that does not establish the fact that our thinking is separate to our physical nature.

Question 22

How does Lacewing criticise Descartes?

Answer 22

• Descartes is presupposing that the mind does exist in this argument. If it does not, then it has no properties and we are just a body.
• Destruction does not just have to be about breaking something down into parts. Destruction can be by annihilation.

Question 23

Why was Aristotle a monist/soft materialist?

Answer 23

He believes the body and soul depend on each other, so are inseparable

Question 24

What book did Aristotle write and what did he call the soul in it?

Answer 24

The De Anima - called the soul the psyche

Question 25

What analogy did Aristotle use to show the body and soul are inseparable?

Answer 25

Imprint in wax analogy - a wax tablet which has been stamped cannot be separated from the impression of the stamp – just as the soul cannot be separated from the body

Question 26

What did his rowboat and oarsman example show about the soul?

Answer 26

The soul is the driving force of the body

Question 27

What did his eye example show about the soul?

Answer 27

The soul gives the body it’s purpose

Question 28

What did his axe chopping example show about the soul?

Answer 28

The soul gives the body it’s character and function

Question 29

What does the example of the angry face show about the soul?

Answer 29

The soul gives the body its emotion

Question 30

What did Aristotle believe about the causes of humans?

Answer 30

Soul is the formal, efficient and final cause of humans.

Question 31

What did Aristotle believe the soul is made of?

Answer 31

The soul is a unique substance made of form not matter as it is not material.

Question 32

What are the different faculties of souls?

Answer 32

• Plant souls have the faculty of nutrition
• Animal souls have the faculties of nutrition, perception and desire
• Human souls have the faculties of nutrition, perception, desire and intelligence

Question 33

Why are human souls distinct from other souls?

Answer 33

They have the ability to reason

Question 34

What are the strengths of Aristotle?

Answer 34

• Evidence that soul and body are united-emotional and physical reactions are closely linked-anger
• Christian support-biblical evidence to show that body and soul are united. When Jesus rose from the dead, he ate with his disciples. He was not a disembodied soul.

Question 35

How did Flew support Aristotle?

Answer 35

To refer to a “soul” is to refer to the behaviour of a person and nothing more.

Question 36

How did Peter Smith support Aristotle?

Answer 36

We might say that Jack needs a big shirt because of his build, as though his build is separate, but Jack could not go without his build and so it is not separate-like the soul for Aristotle.

Question 37

What are the weaknesses of Aristotle?

Answer 37

• there is evidence of a separate soul eg NDEs, past lives
• Doesn’t explain innate knowledge
• No proof that there is no indivisible soul which exists separate to the body.

Question 38

How does Ryle criticise Aristotle?

Answer 38

Language category error - eg Talking of a separate soul is like asking to see the team spirit when watching a cricket match. You have mis understood what team spirit means.

Question 39

How does Wittgenstein respond to Ryle?

Answer 39

Wittgenstein would argue that if the religious community understand what they mean by a soul and that does mean something which is immaterial and separate to the body, then that is meaningful to them. So Ryle is wrong to argue it is a language mistake for them because they don’t mean the soul as something which is part of the body, they do mean that it is separate.

Question 40

What is materialism?

Answer 40

• A materialist believes that there is only one type of substance - matter.
  
  • They believe that everything that exists is either physical or dependant on something physical for its existence, e.g. Thoughts and emotions are merely electrical impulses in the brain or chemical reactions in the body.
  • A person is nothing more than a brain attached to a body and nervous system.

Question 41

What do reductive materialists believe?

Answer 41

○ Reductive materialists believe that the mind and brain are identical.
○ They claim that different mental states correspond to different parts of the brain, e.g. Pain corresponds to a different part of the brain than memory.
○ They believe that chemical reactions in the brain do not just cause mental events but are mental events.
○ They believe that consciousness is physical and so when the body dies, so does consciousness.
- Mel Thompson - electrodes connected to the brain can impact brain states

Question 42

What did Gilbert Ryle claim?

Answer 42

He claimed that to speak of “mind” and body as two separate entities is a language category mistake. (He would have given support to Dawkins’ view if written before him)

Question 43

What did Ryle believe about Descartes?

Answer 43

Descartes’ mind is a language mistake - he is actually talking about personality. Ryle argues that you can not expect to find a mind over and above all the various parts of the body. Mind is simply a term used to describe bodies and how they function. This was his fundamental objection to Descartes and he called his view of the mind “the ghost in the machine.

Question 44

What examples did Ryle give?

Answer 44

• team spirit - where is it?
• He gives the example that if someone was visiting a university and saw all the different colleges, libraries and laboratories and then asked “But where is the University?”. The answer would be that there is no university over and above all its collective parts. University is a term used to describe these collective parts

Question 45

How can Dawkins support Ryle?

Answer 45

Dawkins supports this view of the soul with his definition of soul 1 as a term which is being incorrectly used. Soul One is the non-physical vital principle (Plato). This is the normal view of soul shared by most religious people. Dawkins claims that this view of soul is used incorrectly to mean the personality.

Question 46

What did Dawkins believe?

Answer 46

He was a hard materialist. He believes that there is no part of the body which is not physical. Consciousness can not be separated from the brain (influenced by Aristotle) as nothing exists except for matter. So there can be no conscious life after death as once the brain dies, so does the consciousness.

Question 47

What did Dawkins believe about religious belief in souls?

Answer 47

It has no sound basis and is just wish fulfilment for those who lack courage and fear death. Dawkins would be supported by Freud here who believed that all religious beliefs were simply wish fulfilment.

Question 48

What did Dawkins propose in the Selfish Gene?

Answer 48

He proposes that humans are nothing more than survival machines. Humans have no soul. Humans are made up of genes which want to replicate themselves in order to survive into the next generation.

Question 49

What is Dawkins’ quote on what humans are?

Answer 49

Humans are “survival machines-robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.”

Question 50

What did Dawkins say in his book River out of Eden?

Answer 50

He says that there is no spirit driven life force. Life is just bytes and bytes of digital information. What is awe inspiring is the evolutionary process.

Question 51

What is soul one?

Answer 51

The immaterial aspect of a person (Plato)

Question 52

What is soul two?

Answer 52

Consciousness (Descartes)

Question 53

What did Dawkins believe about Plato and Descartes’ ideas?

Answer 53

Dawkins believes there is no empirical evidence for Plato’s view of soul, and consciousness comes from evolution

Question 54

How did Dawkins define soul 2?

Answer 54

Dawkins defines Soul Two as the intellectual/ spiritual power- high development of mental faculties. This is consciousness or human self awareness which some describe as the soul. Dawkins claims that this self awareness is caused by electrical impulses in the brain and it gives us an evolutionary advantage. Colonies of genes have become so complex that the colony is aware of itself. It is not a soul.

Question 55

What is a strength of reductive materialism?

Answer 55

Explained by science and psychology-our thoughts are just electrical signals-electrical shocks can change brain states, drugs can alter brain states.

Question 56

What is weak about reductive materialism?

Answer 56

Out of body experiences could show that there could be consciousness without a physical brain. Goes against Christian belief of a soul and Christian evidence of soul in the Bible e.g. St Paul says we are raised a spiritual body after death.

Question 57

What is a strength of Ryle?

Answer 57

Psychology talks about personality as something which is physical. So when people talk of mind, Dawkins would say they are really talking of personality which is physical. There is also evidence of other language errors e.g. Smith gives the example of saying Jack has a big build as though his build is separate, but we all know it is not.

Question 58

What is weak about Ryle?

Answer 58

Ryle has misunderstood what religious believers mean by mind/soul. When they use the term soul or mind, they are using it to mean something which is separate to the body. Wittgenstein would say that he has misunderstood the religious language game and tried to apply his own scientific language game which is wrong. We are more than the sum of our parts

Question 59

How does Darwin support Dawkins?

Answer 59

Darwin provides evidence of theory of evolution e.g. Finches so mind and brain is just a development for our survival.

Question 60

What is weak about Dawkins?

Answer 60

Based on empirical evidence and Plato would not agree with this because we cannot trust our senses. Also, sometimes people behave with altruism e.g. Sacrificing yourself for somebody else cannot be explained through evolution and the selfish gene.

Question 61

What are general strengths of materialism?

Answer 61

• There is evidence that mind and body interact and are not separate- for example when we hurt our body, we feel pain. This shows that the mind and body do interact. The body can influence the mind and the mind can influence the body
• Dualists have a problem with other minds. We can only perceive other bodies, not other people’s minds if they are separate. We can only be certain that we have a mind because we know that we are thinking but can not be certain anybody else has a mind!
• The soul is better understood as a metaphor - “He put his heart and soul into his work”, “The lesson was soulless”

Question 62

How does Hume support materialism?

Answer 62

We may be aware that we are a thinking being but that does not establish the fact that our thinking is separate to our physical nature.

Question 63

What are general weaknesses of materialism?

Answer 63

• The way that we use language suggests that we think of ourselves as more than just a body e.g. we say “Jane went to her friend’s house” not “Jane’s body went to her friend’s house”.
• Descartes would argue that the mind and body do have separate properties e.g. the mind has thoughts but the body does not. This shows that they can not be the same.
• Neuro science can not yet explain how an opinion or an emotion can be purely physical.

Question 64

How does Swinburne oppose materialism?

Answer 64

Swinburne argues that the most significant aspects of us can not be found in our physical bodies e.g. ability to make choices, have logical, ordered and complex thoughts as well as a sense of moral obligation. He says that all of this must come from our soul