Self, death and the afterlife --> continuity of personal existence after death Flashcards
does a materialist think you can survive your death?
- no! your body dies and mind dies
- not permanent
- can upload yourself to a computer –> functionalism
- freud ‘wishful thinking’
does a materialist believe in personal continuity
- if mind=brain activity
- if preserved in computer you are the same –> static?
- but traditionally, redundant
does a dualist believe you can survive death
- yes -> mind is immortal –> religious soul is immortal (heaven
- plato: great circuit race
- reincarnation
- but as the soul enters a new body, is it still you?
does a monist believe you can survive death
- no: mind and body is one, death of one is death of both
- yes: full body resurrection, different aspects
- divine substance in us can survive death
problems with disembodied continued existence
- is joining with God self annihilation or separation of the self and God
bertrand russell and continued PE
- ‘brain, as a structure, is dissolved at death’
- cannot survive death as all mental processes which create the mind dies when the brain dies
- russell is a materialist, believes memories and habits are formed in the brain
cryonics and CPE (+ challenges)
- MATERIALIST
- preserving physical body –> coming back to life, indefinite existence
- becoming part mechanical to live longer
- can be challenged by THESEUS’ SHIP PARADOX by plutarch
- problem of continuing personal identity
- how much has to be changed for it to be different
transhumanism and CPE
- constant living: trying not to die
- cure body of illness of aging
- materialist: trying to preserve physical health
- transform human evolution with science and destroy aging
minduploaders and CPE
- can take copy of brain and upload to hard drive –> severs
christian concept of CPE
- FULL BODY RESURRECTION
- resurrected with a body, as a spiritual being
- jesus is the model for this –> jesus in gospels talking and living with disciples 40 days in Gospels
- model for life after death and proof it is possible
- ‘a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have’ Jesus
- '’your death will live; their corpses will rise’
in corinthians - paul
- ‘the last enemy to be destroyed is death’
- ‘the body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable’
‘listen i tell you a mystery’ –> inconclusive
strengths and weaknesses of christian full body resurrection
:)
- theologically consistent
- possible as God is omnipotent and transcendent
:(
- jesus is fully God and human? not for all humans
- was jesus resurrected?
- which resurrected body do I have
- where are the heavenly bodies
- not situational (remarried after someone died, who is you partner in heaven?)
Hick’s replica theory and CPE
- pluralist: trying to prove it is logical to be resurrected
- recreation of human spiritual body
- ‘human psychophysical individual’
- someone in x reappears immediately in y
- after all tests, you can conclude it is the same john smith and he has CPE
- JS dies and body is there but perfect replica is made somewhere else
- you accept this is the smae person, bc if you accept stage 1 you accept stage 2
- JS dies and replica arrives in spiritual world with other spiritual replicas
- must accept replica is JS
- resurrected body is the same person –> this is model by which God can have a recreation/resurrection
- if we accept 2 we accept 3
criticisms of Hicks replica theory
- is replica same person? the mind tethered to the body is what makes the person –> linekd to the same physical body through life
- nature of resurrected body? what stage of life is resurrected body
- multiple replicas? no individuality of a single replica, less meaningful
- is replica enough in place of original? mona lisa? ‘more is required than replication’ Davies
what is spiritualism
individuals awareness persists after death and we can contact them
is spiritualism acceptable
- Barnum statements: people can create meaning in these statements
- derren brown: cold reading like sherlock homes
what is an immortal soul
immortal incorporeal essence in body; soul persists even if body does not
- indestructible and incorruptible –> no matter
3 arguments for an immortal soul
- plato and the phaedo
- prices dream world
- swinburnes lightbulb
plato and phaedo: recollection
- everything you know you recollected from when you used reason in the chariot race
- this maintains CPE as you maintain knowledge as you enter knew chariot race at death
- truth is abstract, not available in world, in world of forms
- there is a soul in this chariot race, who learnt before being born
phaedo and reincarnation
- reincarnation like hindu and sikhi
- soul sheds body and takes on a new body
- moksha: self annihilation, no CPE
prices dream world
- when we die we got to post mortem dream world
- no bodies, create an atmosphere we exists in –> can interact with others (like a roblox server)
- could be in dream world rn
evidence?
- materialist: no brain activity in death so no dreams
- conflicting dreams leads to whose dream world?
swinburnes lightbulb
- soul is not body, can exist in physical/spiritual body
- identity/consciousness is soul
- needs to continue in this realm to still be you
- CPE and consciousness ONLY if soul is still within contained into a body
humes objections against the soul
- we observe beginnings and ends, cannot observe immortality –> we observe constant change in world, why would we be unchanging
- invented an answer to a question –> matter and spirit are equally unknown
- if you do not worry about what happens before pre birth, do not worry about post birth
- life is not fair –> invention of afterlife is wishful thinking
near death experience
being clinically dead and having experience of afterlife and repeating that experience while alive
near death experiences features
- raymond moody
- transcends culture
features
- buzzing sounds
- out of body experience
- travelling through tunnel
- reluctance to return to life
- review of ones life seen
- meeting spiritual beings including God
- feeling of rising into heavens
- supported by longevity and dramatic change in a person
strengths and weaknesses of near death experiences
no
- personal
- only from ‘ignorant and barbarous nations’
- have ulterior motives? credibility as a religious figure etc
- susan blackmore: common features of NDE is dying brain hypothesis ( low oxygen levels triggering brain death; return to life causes us to create meaning to events)
yes
- pam reynolds: clinically brain dead but can recount events and see things even if sense impaired
past life regressions
- ian stevenson
- children and reincarnation –> talking about past life, birthmark representing past life (sustained story)
- jim tucker studies
however
- parents may encourage behaviour accdiently
what is cryptonesia
falsely remembering a past life
