Philosophy (soul)

Question 1

Theseus’ Ship Paradox

Answer 1

Theseus has a ship

All the parts of the ship are replaced

Is it still the same ship?

Question 2

Substance dualism

Answer 2

The mind and body are separate

Question 3

Materialism

Answer 3

The idea that humans are just our physical things

There is no soul

Question 4

Was Plato a materalist?

Answer 4

No

Substance dualist

Question 5

Was Descartes a substance dualist?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

Was Aristotle a substance dualist?

Answer 6

Neither

A materialist who believes in the soul

Question 7

What time period did Plato, Aristotle and Socrates all come from?

Answer 7

Ancient Greek

Question 8

Key difference to Plato between the soul and the body?

Answer 8

soul - possess knowledge (true rationalistic one)

body - doesn’t possess this (only opinions gained through senses)

Question 9

Plato’s aspects of a tripartite soul?

Answer 9

Reason

Spirit - makes us want to do good

Appetite - makes us want to give in e.g. eat popeyes

Question 10

What does Plato believe happens to us after death?

Answer 10

Soul leaves

Can be put into another body or return to Realm of Forms

Question 11

If beautiful things didn’t exist, would beauty still exist?

Give me Plato’s and Aristotle’s responses

Answer 11

Plato: Beauty would still exist because the Form of it would

Aristotle: Forms exist, but are not separate from objects. As a result, if beautiful things don’t exist, there are no objects for that form to exist.

Question 12

Aristotle’s tripartite soul?

Answer 12

Reason

Vegetative

Appetitive

Question 12

Aristotle eye example for soul + explanation?

Answer 12

If we were an eye, our soul would be our ability to see

Shows that there can be no soul without a physical body

Question 13

Vegetative

Answer 13

Part of the soul that creates growth

Question 14

Aristotle hierarchy of being and why it is this way?

Answer 14

Plants - only vegetative

Animals - vegetative and appetitive

Humans - veg, app, and reason

(sorted from lowest to highest being)

Question 15

How did Descartes prove that we existed?

Answer 15

Assumed there was an evil demon that runs the world

It has nothing better to do than deceive us

As a result we can’t believe anything

However, in this he realised that we can definitely know we exist

Because in the process we are thinking, showing that there must be a we

Hence, cogito ergo sum

Question 16

Leibniz Law

Answer 16

2 things are identical if they both have all the same properties

Question 17

How was Leibniz Law used by Descartes to argue that the mind/soul (he didn’t use a specific term) are different from the body? (2 things)

Answer 17

Said that if they were the same then they would have all the same properties

Also, they are different because the mind isn’t dividable whereas the body is

Question 18

Richard Dawkins Summary

Answer 18

21th Century Philosopher

Atheist

Hard materialist

Question 19

Dawkins thoughts on the idea of a soul?

Answer 19

Completely made up to explain away consciousness

Same with e.g. ‘the gods are angry at us’ with thunder

Question 20

Dawkins’ 2 souls?

Answer 20

Soul 1 - actual religious idea

Soul 2 - metaphorical idea we use to talk about ourselves

Question 21

Gilbert Ryle summary?

Answer 21

20th Century Philosopher

Question 22

Ryle materialist or substance dualist and why?

Answer 22

Materialist

Says the belief that the soul is separate is a category error

Compares it to a person visiting a uni, being shown around the campus and then saying, ‘yes, but where is the university’

The visitor wrongly assumes the university is something extra

Question 23

Plato argument for dualism (innate knowledge)? + weaknesses

Answer 23

Soul is needed to explain innate knowledge of Forms

e.g. Plato in ‘The Meno’ shows how an uneducated slave can come up with Pygatheorus’s theroeum

Weakness:

He gave questions that really helped in the Meno

Needs you to believe in Forms also

Question 24

Plato argument for dualism (linguistic argument) + weaknesses

Answer 24

We say ‘I am happy’ but ‘I have a body’

This is in the same way we say ‘I have a horse’

Thus, these are separate

Weakness:

Bad argument as this is looking too much into language

Question 25

Descartes argument for dualism (doubt) + weaknesses

Answer 25

We know the mind exist (from the Cogito) but we can still doubt the existence of the body

Weaknesses:

Disproven by the ‘masked man fallacy’

Says you can doubt that your father is a masked robber by night

However, just because you doubt it, doesn’t mean it isn’t true

Question 26

Argument for materialism (interaction) + weaknesses

Answer 26

If dualism is correct, how can material and non material things interact

For instance, how wold a ghost ride a bike

Weakness:

a ghost and a bike are not connected

Plato says, however, that the soul and mind are linked in the way a person controlling a chariot is

Question 27

Argument for materialism (simplicity) + weaknesses

Answer 27

Using ockham’s razor (simplest answer is correct)

We can conclude that Mind and Body are more likely to be connected

Weakness:

The simplest explanation isn’t always the truth one

e.g. We can only really see the earth and the moon so those are the only planets to exist.

However, there are in fact more.

Question 28

Difference in the lifespan of a Soul between Plato and Aristotle?

Answer 28

Plato - soul is eternal

Aristotle - Soul is born at birth and dies at death