SDA - Dualism Flashcards
what is dualism
- there is a separate mind and body but are connected
- there are distinct physical and mental substances
why do dualists believe in this theory
- evidence for physical and mental world eg emotion and conscience
- rich complicated mental life
- difference between mind and body substance
plato and the soul
- believes in green PSYCHE, soul separate from the body
- soul is different to the body
- ‘I’ does not mean the body, as it comes from the mind/soul
- paradigm shift –> new way of thinking
plato and tripartite soul
- soul is made of 3 parts
- rational: concerned with truth and logical thinking
- spirited part is concerned with passions like anger
- appetite: bodily desire
- believes reason is the strongest element of this
- your essence is your soul and the whole goal is to return to the world of forms
- eg like escaping rebirth to be with God with Mukti, or going to heaven
the realm of forms and plato
- what we see are imperfect copies of perfect forms of concepts
- for philosophers, reason is the part of the soul that can perceive the world of forms
- we do not see this perfect truth due to ignorance
- philosophers are the only people that can see the world of forms
plato and the chariot analogy
- white horse: spirit action and cooperation
- black horse: desire and a rebel
- reason =: the soul tries to stop these horses going in different directions to reach the world of forms
the great circuit and plato
- soul is great chariot race around forms –> if you fail race (overcome by black horse), soul drops in body
- becoming a philosopher king is the best vs becoming a tyrant
- enlightenment of the world of forms is REMEMBERING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
- soul is the only way to know WOF as it is from that world and pre-exists the body
- at death, soul separates from body and returns to world of forms
- dependent on knowledge, soul goes into world of forms or rejoins chariot race
how does Plato’s dualist theory align with Buddhism
- buddha can see world of forms/nirvana through ultimate knowledge like philosophers
- chariot race is like reincarnation
- remember prior knowledge of WOF is like tathagatagarbha
similarities between aristotles and platos ideas on the soul and body
- body is finite
- most important part of the soul is reaosn
differences between aristotles and platos ideas on the soul and body
- plato: soul will endure and reach realm of forms
- opens possibility for life after death and reincarnation
- aristotle: soul is not immortal and dies when body dies
descartes and substance of body and soul
- substance dualist
- extended substance: takes up space and has a form
- thinking does not have a substance but happens in the mind –> MIND IS DIFFERENT FROM MATTER (matter that makes up the body)
- mind can operate without body but body needs mind
- religion compatible –> mind = soul (due to religious pressures)
mind and body connection with descartes
- brain: connection between mind and body –> but brain is not the mind
- mind is whole and indivisible, but body is parts and can be changed/cut up
- animals do not have minds/souls –> but aligns with Catholicism at the time (man is the only dualistic creature)
- interactionism: m and b are two different substances but interact in the pineal gland (now proven false)
- said it was the ‘principle seat of the soul’
- mind influences matter –> thinking of doing an action makes you do it
what makes mind and body different descartes
- mind and soul are completely different substances
- can imagine that your body is not real, but not your mind as you are still thinking
- therefore body is not the same as the mind –> mind is too different
- mind is more real that body
what are Descartes 3 arguments
- argument from doubt
- arguments from divisibility and indivisibility
- argument from clear and distinct perception
aristotle on the body and soul
- soul is structure of the body –> function and organisation
- reason: highest form of rationality (nous)
- soul is a form of the body –> sum total of the operations of a human being
- eg axe is just metal and wood without its purpose of cutting things
- importance is telos of something
- body and soul are not separate but one thing, different aspects
- does not believe in immortality of the soul –> cannot exist without the body
- this may not apply to reason
descartes argument from doubt
- you can imagine your body not existing but not your mind, as you continue to think
- mind is therefore on a higher level than body –> separate levels of substance/importance
- therefore they are different
strengths and weaknesses of descartes’ argument from D
- anyone can do the thought experiment –> intuitively reasonable
- consistent with religion
- aligns with views on personhood
BUT
- from a materialist perspective: origin of thinking comes from brain –> a material part of body (not separate)
- argument does not prove that anyone else has a mind
- gilbert ryle: ghost in the machine –> concept of thinking thing does not mean it is a reality
descartes argument for divisibility and indivisibility
- brain and mind are two distinct substances
- essential property of physical things is extension –> anything that can be extended can be divided
- mind is not extendable and therefore indivisible
- using LEIBNIZ’S LAW, if they are the same, they would have the same properties
for and against from argument from divisibility and indivisibility
FOR
- descartes –> mind= consciousnesses
- emotions/perceptions/feelings are not different parts, but different modes
AGAINST
- mind can be divided into memory perception, emotion etc
- actual divisions of the mind are possible due to 2 hemispheres of the brain (empirical scientific evidence)
descartes arguments from clear and distinct perception
- I have a clear idea of myself as a thinking non-extended thing –> I do not take up time and space
- body is a non thinking extended thing –> M and B are seperate
- because they are not identical they are separate
- contrast with triangle and 3 sides, cannot separate this
strengths and weaknesses of clear and distinct perception
FOR
- triangle analogy is easy to understand
AGAINST
- masked man: can believe him to not be your father but he is
- can accidently conceive impossible
how does DESCARTES see the body soul relationship
- a problem of interaction of material and immaterial
- INTERACTIONISM: mind and body can causally influence eachother –> mental and physical
- no evidence for his version of where they connect –> pineal gland but proved to be associated with melatonin and sleep
- CAUSAL INTERACTIONISM
how does MATERIALISM see the body soul relationship
- no D and S relationship as there is no S
- ideas on immortal soul is wishful thinking
- functionalism: how mind functions, as mind is established as purely matter
- same substance –> brain = computer
how does MONISM see the body soul relationship
- we are one substance with 2 aspects to eachother
- joined together –> close to aristotles view
- a person is one thing –> body = physical and mind non physical
- relationship between one substance
Problem with Descartes INTERACTIONISM
- does not show how it takes place
- modern anatomy shows pineal gland is linked to melatonin and sleep production
- working with 17th century mechanist view of universe - science is primitive
