Influences of developments in religious belief Flashcards
Define monism. Give both interpretations
- monistic view states that the body and the mind are linked together to form one entity.
- Physicalists: believe the human being is purely physical - there is no separate soul.
- Idealists: beleive that human being is essentially mind . The body is an illusion
Outline Aristotles views on the relationship beteeen the body and soul
- Aristotle thought that all living things had souls. The soul gives the body life, and there are different types of soul.
- Aristotle said that all living things possess characteristics:
1. Intellect
2. Locomotion (ability to move)
3. Desire
4. Perception
5. Nutrition - the soul is seen as the function of the body
Outline his Wax and Stamp analogy
- you could no more separate the body from the soul as you could separate the shy be given to a lump of wax by a stamp from the way ise if, in other words,
- wax and shape may be different ideas, but you cannot separate them - where the shape is, there is the wax.
Outline Spinoza’s view
- Spinoza thought that all reality had both a mental and a physical aspect. So, instead of having two very different substances, mind and body,
- Spinoza thought that there was a single substance that was both conscious and extended.
- Mind and body were, in effect, different ways of seeing the same thing. This is sometimes called the double-aspect theory and it is part of the monist view.
Give 3 scholarly views on monism
- Thomas Hobbes
- Alfred North Whitehead
- David Armstrong
Give Thomas Hobbes views on monism.
- is a materialist monist.
- his views comes from the Corpuscularian tradition, which holds that all observable events can be explained by tiny, material particles called “corpuscles, which make up our universe.
- Hobbes extended this idea to claim that only material substances exist. For him, even human thoughts and consciousness are entirely physical phenomena, reducible to matter and motion.
- ” All matter is material.”
Describe Whitehead’s views on monism
- Whitehead believed that everything perceived is part of nature, and that philosophy should not exclude or explain away any part of it. He said, “All we know of nature is in the same boat, to sink or swim together”, meaning our understanding of reality must encompass both the physical and experiential aspects,
- criticsing a materialist view. Was not a dualist.
Describe David Armstrong’s views on monism
- argues that science cannot tell us about God or morality or justice. Why then, should it be able to tell us about something as complex as consciousness.
- He concludes that the answer to this question must be rooted in modern science, for it is the only field where people have consistently reached intellectual consensus on issues.
- Science is the only subject in which things can be certain, or at least very nearly so. For this reason, he asserts, we should use physical science, specifically molecular biology, to give a complete account of man and the mind in purely “physico-chemical terms”.
- was a monist.
Evaluate the monistic view. Give strengths
strengths:
- based by scientific evidence ( materialist) and Darwin’s theory of evolution. - Dawkins : no more than the sum of our DNA. LINK TO ARMSTRONG’S VIEWS
- could be compatible with bodily resurrection CA: religious believers would want to delineate between the body and soul.
Evaluate the monist view - give weaknesses
weaknesses:
- no empirical evidence of the soul. CA: we cannot necessarily deny the existence of the soul.
- materialism is simply ontological reductionism. This leads to impacts on morality. As Aristotle’s 5 finctions of the soul can be limiting.
- WHITEHEAD’S VIEW
- Hindus believe there is empirical evidence.
- most people do have some concept of a conscience CA: could be neurological.
Outline the dualist view. Give Hick’s quote.
- the body and mind are distinct entities.
- ## ” mind is a reality of a different kind from matter … mind and dbrain are independent but interacting realities.” John Hick.
Describe Gilbert Ryle’s monist view
- Gilbert Ryle (a materialist/physicalist), in The Concept of the Mind (1949) attacked a Cartesian dualism (Descartes’ view).
- He spoke of the ‘ghost in the machine’ - the ghost being the mind and the machine being the material body.
- He said to speak of a distinct mind and body is a ‘category mistake.’
- He argues that all mental events are really physical events interpreted it a mental way.
- He believes that a human is purely physical and to think that we have a distinct spiritual entity is to misinterpret the body.
Describe Descartes view on dualism
- believed that the body is spatial and material not concious, whereas the mind is non-spatial , immaterial and concious, with feelings and thoughts.
- ” the soul is of a nature entirely indepdnent of the body, and consequently …. it is not bound to die with it”
- “I think therefore i am.” Here he means the ability to think is proof of one’s existence, even if everything else is uncertain. The mental was personally verifiable thorugh introspection - the physical world could be a deception as it was known only through the scenes.
Evaluate Descartes view . Mention epiphenomenalism and Leibniz gap
initial issue: if the body and soul are so different , how do they influence one another.
Rebuttal: He argued that the body and mind interact but are seperate through the workings of the pineal gland , which he believed has no other purpose. It is the PG that interacts with the soul and the brain.
Counter 1: pineal gland does have a purpose to regulate sleep patterns.
Counter 2: Leibniz’s gap was proposed where he concluded that the mental and physical were entirely seperate and there is no causal connection between them. It is God that harmonises them.
Counter 3: Epiohenomenalism
Describe epiphenomenalism
- the view that the mind is a product of the complex physical processes of the brain.
- It is the physical processes of the brain which causes the mind and soul.
Evaluate dualism
outline strengths
strengths:
- moral responisbility: highlights that we are not merely biologically determined.
- able to self authenticate our existence; Descartes.
CA: masked man fallacy: we can conceive of the impossible.
- weight test: can empirically verify the existence of the soul. CA: causation? could be external factors.
- compatible with religion and the idea of an immortal soul.
