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A Level RE- Philosophy > Soul, Mind And Body > Flashcards

Soul, Mind And Body Flashcards

1
Q

What is a substance dualist?

A

The body and soul are two separate substances

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2
Q

Plato’s view of the soul

A

The body is just the temporary part of a person but the soul is the real/essential part that never dies.
The soul is reincarnated after death (leaves our body and moves to another)
Before the incarnation, the soul visits the world of the forms
For plato, the soul is trapped in our body and wants to escape

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3
Q

The myth of Er

A
  • Solider dies but gets back to life to tell the other soldiers what the after life is about
  • People judged for the ways they lived life and each person gets to pick how they are reincarnated
  • The people judged badly picked wisely and the people judged good picked rich bad lives
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4
Q

Plato’s view on the body

A
  • Changes, decays, dies. Part of the empirical world
  • Temporary
  • Physical
  • Controlled by senses
  • Made up of parts
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5
Q

Plato’s view on the soul

A
  • Unchanging. Immortal.
  • Eternal
  • Non-physical. Immaterial
  • Capable of reason- leads to true knowledge
  • Simple. Cannot be divided
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6
Q

Argument for recollection

A

The soul remembers the forms. E.g the form of beauty
I know whats fair and unfair because the form of justice

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7
Q

The slave boy analogy- recollection

A

The slave boy had no education but was able to solve a geometry puzzle. This shows the boy is using knowledge he already had before birth (he didn’t have the education)

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8
Q

The three aspects which the soul is in conflict with- inner conflict

A
  • Reason
  • Emotions and Appetites (desires)

The soul is in harmony when reason is in control but isn’t when desires are

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9
Q

Is this an accurate description of inner conflict?

A

Yes
- As we mature we make more rational decisions
- Shows that there is a soul which is more important than the body

No
- Perhaps inner conflict is just emotion or lack of maturity
- Upbringing or DNA makes us easily swayed by desires

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10
Q

What is monoism

A

The body and soul are one single unity

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11
Q

Aristotle’s view on the soul

A

The soul is one single unity and not distinct

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12
Q

Wax seal illustration

A

The imprint stamped onto wax cannot be separated from the wax. This is the same with the soul

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13
Q

Aristotle on life after death?

A

The soul and body cannot exist without each other so there is no life after death

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14
Q

Illustrations on why soul cannot exist without body

A

If we imagine an axe, the soul of an axe would be the ability to chop wood. Without that ability, the axe is just matter

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15
Q

What is a substance dualist?

A

Body and soul are two separate substances

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16
Q

Body/soul relationship- what type of causes

A

Soul = formal cause of body- animates the body (gives it life)
Soul = efficient cause of body- brings body to life
Soul = final cause of body- telos of soul is to live a good life

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17
Q

Hierarchy of the soul

A
  • Vegetative soul- plants have
  • Perceptive soul- animals have
  • Intellectual soul- humans have
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18
Q

Successes of Aristotle’s soul

A
  • Monism fits well with current scientific research
  • The fact i have intention to do something supports the belief that there is more to me than just the physical
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19
Q

Non successful parts of Aristotle’s soul

A
  • Difficult to demonstrate beyond doubt, can’t be proven
  • Why do we have imagination etc. Qualities go beyond what is necessary for survival
20
Q

What is consciousness?

A

Self-awareness- an awareness of who you are

21
Q

What is the mind-body problem?

A

How the mind and body relate to each other. The problems are:

  • How can something as strange as consciousness be explained
  • Is my mind separate from my body
  • If so, how does my mind and body interact
22
Q

What was Descartes thought experiment

A

He says that we can’t be certain that our brain isn’t connected to a super computer

23
Q

Who is Descartes?

A

French mathematician and philosopher

24
Q

Descartes most popular phrase

A

“I think therefore i am”

25
What is scepticism
A questioning approach which does not take assumptions for granted
26
What is Hyperbolic doubt
Extreme doubt
27
Descartes view on philospohy
Maths could be 100% trusted and he wanted the same for philosophy. His views are that you must question absolutely everything
28
Problem for Descartes
- How does my thought connect with my hands when writing notes? - How does we use mental capabilities (judgement) combined with physical movement (sport) - How do our thoughts cause physical responses? When frightened we have adrenaline
29
Descartes solution
The pineal gland is the linking part to the body and mind
30
How Descartes views are successful
- Possibilities of life after death - Explanation of how to body and mind interact - We talk as if we are more than a physical body - Loss of a limb doesn’t affect a person’s mind so the mind and body being separate is a valid point
31
Descartes view is not successful
- Hume: being aware that we are thinking beings doesn’t mean our mind and body are separate - Descartes doesn’t explain how the pineal gland works - Medical research proved the pineal gland isn’t where the mind and body links - Losing a limb alters the person’s outlook on life which is a mental thing
32
What is a category error
Using language incorrectly. Treating something as one type when its of another
33
What does Gilbert Ryle ‘a ghost in the machine’ explain
That it is impossible for the mind to work the body as an immaterial substance (ghost) cannot work a material substance (machine)
34
3 examples of category error
- A foreign visitor tours the uni of Cambridge. They see colleges, the library, etc… At the end of the day he says, where is the university - A boy watching a military parade sees the platoons, squadrons but he asks where the army is - A foreigner goes to his first game of cricket and learns about the fielders, bowlers, batsman but asks where is the team spirit
35
Does our language support Ryle
Yes. I am switching on the kettle- we don’t say my hands are switching on the kettle I have decided to make tea- we don’t say the mind has
36
What is materialism
Materialism is the view that only physical matter exists- humans are only flesh, blood, nerves and cells This means: - No soul - No life after death - Any mental activity takes place in the brain
37
Neuroscience evidence on materialism
- Our brains are made up of neurons which communicate by sending electrical impulses around the brain - Communication between neurons are strengthened and weakened by our activities - We know which parts of the brain is responsible for languages so there is no single place for consciousness - Materialist argue that all our thoughts and emotions come from signals
38
Medication as evidence of materialism
Medication is used to stabilise a person’s mood. This shows changes in thoughts are physical
39
Types of materialism
Identity theory- View that mind is identical to body. Anything said about a person is reduced to cells Property dualism- Matter has two properties, physical and mental Emergent materialism- The mind and body are different but not completely distinct
40
Richard Dawkins view of the soul
Soul one- capable of life after death, platonic soul- He rejects this Soul two- meaningful way to refer to personality, not separate from the brain- he agrees with this
41
Dualist response to materialism
Rejects neuroscience as it comes from an outside perspective- subjective - I cannot FEEL your experience of love - I cannot KNOW what the smell of cinnamon is to you
42
Brain and mind differences
Brain -Physical -Made up of blood cells -Has definite shape -Coordinates movement Mind -Mental -Not made up of cells -Doesn’t have a shape -Where a person’s consciousness happens
43
Response from thesists
“Lord God formed man from dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”- Gen 2 Humans made in God’s image and the breathing of life is the soul Richard Swinburne- losing belief in soul = damaging since soul = consciousness which lets us know right and wrong
44
Strengths of materialism
- Empirical evidence - No single place which consciousness happens and neuroscience proved it - Medication can alter our thoughts
45
Weaknesses of materialism
- Neuroscience cannot fully explain consciousness. Brain doesn’t choose to do something. Nerves cannit have emotions or desires - Brain would be useless without the mind as there would be no consciousness - Subjective minds of different people

A Level RE- Philosophy (3 decks)

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