Self, death and the afterlife Flashcards
Year 13 topic I
What are platos beliefs on the nature and existence of the soul?
-dualist ideas,2 aspects of human beings
-soul as pre-existent and immortal/immaterial and metaphysical
-trapped in the body. Body is a “prison” to it.
-it is the real self, originally from and will return to realm of forms
-3 parts (logic/thumos(spiritual)/appetitive(sex/food/drink)
What are platos ideas of the body in contrast?
-the body is composite and mortal
-it will decay, unlike the soul which is immortal
-part of world of senses
-multiple parts, unlike the simple soul(no parts to soul)
What is platos allegory of the cave?
A group of prisoners confined since birth in a cave.
People/things pass by and cast shadows. One prisoner is freed and disoriented by his false perception and new world he sees.
He returns to the cave to tell the story but is disoriented by the darkness, the other prisoners resist escape and do not believe.
Plato compares this to a philosopher trying to teach the masses/ they are too stubborn and ignorant to govern themselves
How does platos allegory of the cave relate to the theory of forms?
Analogy leads to fundamental questions about nature of reality.
We are stuck in the cave, one day we will be freed and released to the realm of forms to perceive the true, real and perfect versions of things- the REAL world
What is platos argument for natural immortality of the soul?
-the soul is immaterial, unextended and simple.
-it cannot be broken down and it has no parts. Something can only be destroyed if it has existing parts that can be separated.
-having no parts, the soul cannot be destroyed. Therefore IMMORTAL
What is platos argument from opposites?
-he observed that everything that undergoes generation(coming into existence) does so through opposites. For example, waking up follows the opposite of falling asleep.
-this must mean that life and death are opposites. If something can come to live only after death, then living must come from death and vice versa!
-Plato concludes that the souls of dead must exist in some place where they are reborn
-this supports idea of EXISTENCE of the soul, IMMORTALITY of the soul, and reincarnation.
What is platos argument from recollection?
Platos dialogue “Phaedo” presents this theory
Our knowledge is not learnt from sensory experience but it is INNATE
We “remember” truths that we know before birth within our SOULS
Knowledge is not learning new things but remembering old observations from realm of forms- souls existed before body and has knowledge of eternal truths eg. Moral values.
Earthly experiences trigger recollection of pre existing knowledge
This proves IMMORTALITY, as they exist before life, during life and after death too.
What are the weaknesses?
- these ideas rest on theory of forms- this is non-verifiable and speculative- shaky foundations..holds no logical or evidential basis
-in reference to theory of opposites, the analogy of sleeping and waking is a big logical jump to the idea of life and death.simply incorrect and naive to make such an illogical connection.
-core of platos arguments rely on the soul as “simple”- TOO SIMPLE. Causes distinctive complexity of soul that is gained through physical experience to be discredited
-such a “simple soul” cannot exist, and definitely is not immortal. If we cannot even begin to explain the soul scientifically, there is no way it is “simple” in way Plato describes
Strengths
-compatible with Christian viewpoints on the soul. (MATTHEW 10:28)- “fear him who can destroy both soul and body”) - shows differentiation of soul and body show soul can live on without body- life after death with platonic dualism is valid.
-existence of near death experiences such as “seeing a light/meeting a barrier or “being of light”-indicative of realm higher than this one where our consciousness may live on after death- value of WITNESS REPORTS
What are Aristotles beliefs on the nature and existence of the soul?
-realist and empirically based views, ultimately materialist and monist
-Aristotle came from time where philosophy = science, so ideologies are empirically based
-believed everything living has a soul, and this is what defines it from the dead/non-living. The «principle of life»But humans possess rational thought of top of this which puts us at the top of hierarchy of souls.
-«for the pupil plus the power of sight constitutes the eye, so the soul plus the body constitutes the animal. From this it is clear that the soul is inseparable from the body»
-the soul is an integral part of the body that cannot be separated, it animates the body.
Weaknesses of Aristotles view
-not compatible with widely accepted Christian thinking, reduces overall credibility of argument
-does not account for the objective existence of QUALIA- the subjective, intrinsic and non-representational elements of experience that cannot be explained by monistic physicalism.
-Aristotle using only empirical and scientific means to explain soul is wrong.formal causation and existence of the soul is unscientific. He claimed that formal causation is a metaphysical matter that was beyond empirical study. He gave the illustration of the ‘whiteness’ of snow and explained how science could investigate how snow results from air and water, but this only tells us about its efficient cause, not its colour, the form of ‘whiteness’, which is beyond scientific investigation. F.Bacon thought that such an inseparable form existed, but Aristotle is wrong to think science could study for it
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What was Aristotles analogy of wax, to explain the inseparability of the soul and body as one essence?
With a stamp imprint on some wax, the imprint of the stamp so actual positive existence separable from the wax, yet it nonetheless gives form to the wax.
This is similar to the relationship from the body and soul, they are not distinct from one another.
There is only one existence.
Strengths of Aristotles view
-his scientific backings and background give a more credible argument. The fact it is based on observation appeals to a wider range of people
-his secularised ideas of life after death, that the soul does not live on after the mortal death of body fits with twenty first century view - easier to believe
DESCARTES - general ideas surrounding body,mind etc?
-substance dualist - mind/soul is a separate and distinct substance to the body. The mind is a mental substance, while the body/matter is extended substance - CARTESIAN DUALISM
-compatible to Christian thinking and ideology
