RE philosophical language and thought section 2 (soul)

Question 1

what is dualism?

Answer 1

the belief that the soul and body are united

Question 2

what is monism?

Answer 2

the view that the body and soul are separate and that when the soul dies the body dies also.

Question 3

what is materialism?

Answer 3

no belief in the soul.

Question 4

what does plato believe about the soul?

Answer 4

• the soul is permanent and certain. if permanence can’t be found in this world then it must exist in the forms.
• it’s immortal and eternal.
• it was not created, it has ne beginning or end.
• when you die, the soul returns to the forms as it existed in the forms before it became tied down in the material world by the body.
• the soul desires to get out of the body which it’s trapped in. Death is nothing to fear as it’s only shaking the temporary shell.
• ‘the body is the prison of the soul’.

Question 5

what are the 3 parts to plato’s soul?

Answer 5

• reason/rationality
• spirit
• appetite/desire

Question 6

what is the reason part of the soul?

Answer 6

• sensible outcome.

- results in a positive outcome for everyone involved.

Question 7

what is the spirit part of the soul?

Answer 7

• it doesn’t have to be rational but it results in a good outcome for you.
• it can be reckless

Question 8

what is the appetite part of the soul?

Answer 8

• based around your needs.

- it might not be rational

Question 9

what are the criticisms of Plato’s idea of the soul?

Answer 9

• atheists believe there’s no soul.
• appetite is presented as bad when it could be good.
• no evidence to prove its existence.
• Aristotle said that the soul dies when the body dies.
• we have things which cam make decisions without a soul.
• can’t observe it so we don’t know whether or not it has 3 parts.

Question 10

what did Aristotle say about the soul?

Answer 10

• you’re a person because your body is animated by the soul.
• the soul isn’t simple, and we’re just a lump of matter when the soul dies.
• the soul isn’t reducible to physics and chemistry.
• distinguishes the living from the non-living.

Question 11

what are Aristotle’s 3 degrees of the soul?

Answer 11

• nutritive soul
• sensitive soul
• rational soul

Question 12

what are the characteristics of the nutritive soul?

Answer 12

vegetative, shared with all living things.

Question 13

what are the characteristics of the sensitive soul?

Answer 13

it can move and has feelings.

Question 14

what are the characteristics of the rational soul?

Answer 14

• thinks about things and decides which actions we should take.
• also includes the powers of memory and reflection on our past and future.

Question 15

in summary, what do the following people believe about the soul:

• plato
• Descartes
• Aristotle
• dawkins

Answer 15

PLATO
dualist, the soul belongs to the world of the forms and is eternal. has 3 parts

DESCARTES
our thoughts are proof of a separate soul, it dies when we die but it can leave the body at any time. 2-way
casual interaction.

ARISTOTLE
monist, the soul belongs to the body and dies when the body does, it can’t leave the body

DAWKINS
materialist, the belief that it’s immortal is wish fulfilment.

Question 16

what did Descartes say about the soul?

Answer 16

• ‘entirely separate from the body and may exist without it’
• body and mind are separate but interact with each other.
• the body causes events in the mind and vice-versa.
• the mind can leave the body when we dream, for example.

Question 17

what did Dawkins say about the soul?

Answer 17

• humans are bytes of information.
• no soul or conscience.
• it only exists in a metaphoric sense.
• we’re the sum total of our genes.