Soul, Mind And Body Flashcards
Materialism (monism)
The mind and body = 1 thing
The mind is dependant on body
Idealism (monism)
1 thing = mind
Dualism
The body and soul are different things
Physical and spiritual self
Plato- A dualist view
- Plato described the soul as simple and complex
- The soul is simple because it is without parts meaning it cannot be physical and can’t be broken up
- The soul is complex because it is made up of 3 parts
The 3 parts of the soul
Plato
- Spirit = emotional/spiritual side
- Reason = intelligence
- Desire = physical eg wanting food
Allegory of the charioteer
Plato
Your reason controls your spirit and desire
Life after Death: The Phaedo
plato
- The soul must be eternal
- It lived before you lived and lived after the death of the body
- you soul lives in the world of the forms
Argument from opposites
Plato
- Everything has an opposite = life is the opposite of death and body has the opposite of a soul
- Our world is perishable so there must be a world that isn’t perishable
- There is a life after death
Argument from recollection
Plato
- There are things we can know a priori like maths
- We remember things we already know from the world of the forms
Argument from Affinity
Plato
- We have a separate body and soul but they work together to make our bodies work
- Our soul has an affinity (strong link) to the world of the forms where other immortal and immaterial things live
- Our soul has been ‘forced’ to live in the perishable world temporarily (unless your soul is polluted by bodily influences)
Peter Geach rejects Plato
- How can disembodied souls see the forms since seeing is a process linked with experience through the senses
- Is existence without a body really human existence (but what about mediums and communication)
Epicurus quote
“Death, the most dreaded of evils, is… of no concern to us, for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present, we no longer exist.”
Aristotle- A weak dualist view
- Physical body = continual state of change
- Soul (substance) = remains the same
- Aristotle gave the example of a wax tablet with a stamp impressed on it
- The shape made by the stamp is inseparable from the wax
- Just as the soul is inseparable from the person
- Soul = function of a human being like the axe is for chopping
Unlike Plato Aristotle believed that…
- Aristotle believes the soul is natural rather than supernatural with a supernatural realm
- body + soul = 2 substances but they can’t be seperated
“Soul is the principle of animal life”
The 3 types of soul- bottom of the pyramid
Plants = vegetive or nutritive
- Capable of nourishment
- Ensure reproduction of species
The 3 types of soul- middle of the pyramid
Animal = perceptive soul
- React to the world around them
- Distinguishes between pain and pleasure
The 3 types of soul- Top of the pyramid
Humans = higher degree of soul
- Ability to reason
- Can tell right from wrong
- Makes us who we are
Aristotles definition if the soul
It is substance in the sense which corresponds to the definitive formula of a things essence
Substance = type of matter Essence = that which makes a thing what it is
Plato strengths
- More to humans that physiology
- Allows for a metaphysical (beyond physical/ spiritual) soul
- Dualist view
Plato weaknesses
- Idea of a supernatural realm = unlikely to exist
- Peter Geach = how can disembodied souls see the forms since that is a process linked with experience through senses
- Reason is not what the soul is
Aristotle strengths
- Soul animates and is human existence (Peter Geach)
- Reason distinguishes us from plants and animals
- uses a posteriori knowledge as evidence
Aristotle weaknesses
- Reason is not what the soul is
- Our senses can deceive us
- Confuses soul with something physical
- Trying to find a physical explanation for something that isn’t physical
Descartes- A substance dualist view
The cogito:
- The process of elimination, Descartes decides that only 1 thing you cannot doubt is COGITO ERGO SUM- I think therefore I am- I think therefore I exist
The body
Descartes
- Can be known a posteriori
- Dubitable (doubt)
- Divisible
- Takes up space
- Extended
The soul
Descartes
- Can be known a priori
- Indubitable
- Indivisible
- Takes up no space
- Unextended (1 place)
Relationship between the mind and the body
Descartes
- They are independent substances
- They can exist apart and will be separated at death
- They exist in casual interaction with each other
- The mind and body are in intimate union although seperate
- Descartes believed they communicated through a small organ in the brain
Hume critisism
The body is doing what it is meant to- statistical conjunction
Gilbert Ryle criticising dualism
Ghost
Says Descartes is wrong Thinks Descartes is describing a "ghost in the machine" Ghost meaning soul Machine meaning body Soul controls body
Gilbert Ryle criticising dualism
Pair of gloves
- If you bought a left handed globe and a right handed glove you can’t say you bought a pair of gloves
- The 2 gloves make the pair in the same way the body and soul are a pair
- Ryle believed ‘mental’ events were complex patterns of behaviour
However he is comparing 2 physical things where as the body is physical and the soul is spiritual
Dawkins- A mentalist view
- Humans are nothing more than survival machines (robotic vehicles programmed to preserve genes)
- No existence of a soul
- No life after death (mind and body die together)
Meme’s
Dawkins
An idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture (good thoughts and ideas spread and become popular like the natural selection of ideas)
The idea pf a soul or life after death is a positive idea to make life exciting and makes death easier to accept
Soul 1
Dawkins
- Science is killing soul 1
- Soul 1 is the traditional soul (put forward by Plato) = meme
Soul 2
Descartes
- Soul 2 is not being killed by science
- It is our intellectual, creative and spiritual power that may be explained by science in the future
