Soul Flashcards
Who holds the view of materialism ?
Aristotle and others hold the view that the explanation is a physical one and that we are one material substance.
What is ‘Qualia’ ?
This is the actual feel of our conscious experiences
What do Dualist argue about the first reason of materialism ( First reason in favour of materialism)?
Dualist argue that no matter how much knowledge we acquire of our brains, this knowledge is from the outside. However consciousness is a first- person phenomenon and cannot be solved by first person science.
Does Dawkins believe in the idea of a ‘soul’?
No, Dawkin’s argues that the idea of a ‘soul’ is a mythological concept invented by the ancients to explain the mystery of consciousness.
Does Dawkin’s accept the Platonic or Religious idea of the soul ?
Dawkin’s strongly rejects the Platonic or religious idea of the soul, but he does accept that it is possible to use the term metaphorically.
What is the third reason in favour of materialism?
Category error
How does Gilbert Ryle argue that belief that there is a separate soul is a category error?
Gilbert Ryle uses his example of the visitor to the university to illustrate how Descartes and other dualists are thinking of the mind in the wrong way.
What is Gilbert Ryle’s example of the university?
Imagine a foreign visitor to Oxford or Cambridge university. He is shown the libraries, the playing fields, museums, accommodations, and offices. Suppose he were to say, ‘Yes, I have seen all these things but where is the university itself?’ The visitor wrongly assumes that the university is something extra, this is the same sort of mistake that Descartes makes with the mind.
What is the first reason in favour of materialism ?
Neuroscience
What is neuroscience?
Neuroscience is the branch of science that studies the brain. Our states of consciousness are affected by brain chemistry, an example being depression, which can be treated with medication that alters the chemistry of the brain. Materialists (Dawkins) are strong in their beliefs that we eventually we will all be able to identify all of the mental processes in the brain and have a complete explanation of consciousness.
What is the masked man fallacy?
One famous counterexample to Descartes is called the ‘masked man fallacy’. It may be possible to doubt that my father is the masked robber and impossible to that he is married to my mother, but this does not mean that both cannot be true. Whether we are able to doubt something isn’t a property of itself, it is a property of our minds. Just because I think that one thing is uncertain and another thing is certain does not mean that this is the case.
Describe Descartes differences between mind and body.
Cogito- the idea that he can doubt everything but his ability to doubt and therefore think ,enables him to identify the essential nature of the mind and this is that it is a ‘thinking thing’. The essence of mind is thought, which is non-physical, while the essence of body is extension of physical space- this means that they can’t be one and the same thing.
How does Descartes use Liebniz law to back up his belief in the differences between mind and body?
Descartes uses Leibniz law to argue that whilst a physical thing can be divided into sections, something that has no physical location can’t be divided. Therefore there is a difference between the mind and body, proving that they are not the same!
What does ‘cogito ergo sum’ mean?
’ I think therefore I am’
How does Descartes come up with ‘cogito ergo sum’ ?
Descartes realizes that there is one thing that it is not possible to doubt; he is certain he exists. Even if he were wrong about everything, the very act of thinking proves that there is a thinker. This argument proves the thinking part of us.
What were Aristotle’s beliefs in the afterlife?
There is some evidence that Aristotle believed that the ability to reason survives after death. It does NOT mean that our identities survive.
What is Plato’s belief about where are soul was in the past?
Plato believed that the soul was in the realm of forms and therefore has knowledge of the forms before being pulled to the earth by the appetites.
What is Plato’s belief about the soul in the present?
Plato believes that the soul is presently incarnated in a body and experiences all the tension of the conflict between the body and the soul.
