Soul, Mind and Body

Question 1

what is Dualism

Answer 1

that there are two different types of existence, mental and physical

Question 2

what is substance dualism

Answer 2

Descartes version that the two different types of existence are two different sibstances

Question 3

what is monism

Answer 3

the view that there is one kind of existence

Question 4

what is materialism

Answer 4

the view that the one kind of existence is physical substance

Question 5

what did Plato believe of the soul

Answer 5

that it is imprisoned in the body, trapping it from reaching the world of the forms

Question 6

what did Plato suggest when we learn

Answer 6

we are actually recalling knowledge about the forms

Question 7

what is Plato’s analogy of the chariot

Answer 7

one horse is the mind, the other is the body and the soul (the rider) is the one trying to direct them to work together

Question 8

how does Plato describe the soul

Answer 8

it is ‘simple’ and ‘without parts’

Question 9

what are the three aspects of the soul

Answer 9

reason - searches for truth.
desire
spirit - aspects which can be trained.

Question 10

how does the idea of a young child illustrate Plato’s three aspects of the soul

Answer 10

a young child throwing a tantrum shows the lack of harmony the soul, the spirit and desire are not being directed by reason

Question 11

what was Plato’s argument of opposites

Answer 11

plato argues that the physical world consists of opposites (big and small, life and death)
so for there to be a thing off living then death must also be a thing. the soul must exist so that one can talk of living and deaths opposites.

Question 12

was supports the argument of opposites

Answer 12

reincarnation, as death is opposite to life and vice versa, this implies a cycle of death

Question 13

why is Plato’s theory of the soul have dangerous foundations

Answer 13

it relies upon the realm of the forms existing which cannot be proven and is not accepted greatly

Question 14

why is the argument of opposites criticised

Answer 14

it holds on the assumption that everything has opposites

Question 15

what did Aristotle claim the soul was

Answer 15

the formal cause of the body

Question 16

how is Aristotles idea of the soul being the formal cause criticised

Answer 16

formal causation in unscientific, in modern science the formal cause can be explained by the material and efficient causation

Question 17

what is the rational soul

Answer 17

the soul given to human due to the fact we are able to use reason

Question 18

why is the idea of a rational soul challenged by neuroscientists

Answer 18

reason can be found to be a material brain process, not part of a soul

Question 19

why does descartes know he exists even without a body

Answer 19

“I think therefore I am”, the body can be an illusion by a demon

Question 20

what is Descartes indivisibility argument

Answer 20

physical substance can be divided, the mind is indivisible, identical things must have the same properties so the mind cannot be identical to physical substance

Question 21

what is the issue of mental divisibility or Descartes

Answer 21

the mind can be separated into memory, emotion and so on, therefore, it is identical to physical substance

Question 22

how does Descartes respond to the issue of mental divisibility

Answer 22

memory and emotions are different modes not divisions, it is the same undivided mind that perceives

Question 23

how do mental illnesses also critic Descartes substance dualism

Answer 23

disorders such as multiple personality suggest that the mind can be divided.

Question 24

what is the interaction problem of dualism

Answer 24

if dualism is correct, how is it possible for them to interact, physical things can only interact with physical things

Question 25

ryle and category mistake

Answer 25

Descartes assumes the mind is in the category of ‘things’ which is a mistake. it might not be a thing at all

Question 26

what does Ryle use as an analogy

Answer 26

asking in a game, ‘where is the team spirit?’, as if the team spirit was something additional to a player

Question 27

what is Dawkins two soul theory

Answer 27

soul 1 - the view that the soul is a real separate thing from our body ethic Dawkin rejects
soul 2 - a metaphorical idea of a soul as a deep part of our mind or personality.

Question 28

how is Dawkins idea critiqued

Answer 28

he does not explain emotion, according to his theory emotion would be inefficient

Question 29

what does “I think, therefore I am” show for Descarte

Answer 29

the only think we can rely upon is the idea that we can think, the body can be a trick made by a demon

Question 30

what is Ryles example of category error

Answer 30

mistaking a university for separate institutions

Question 31

what is the ghost in the machine by Ryle

Answer 31

ridicules Descartes suggesting Descartes view is like a ghost (soul) operating a physical machine (the body)