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Philosophy > Soul, Mind And Body > Flashcards

Soul, Mind And Body Flashcards

1
Q

Materialism (monism)

A

The mind and body = 1 thing

The mind is dependant on body

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2
Q

Idealism (monism)

A

1 thing = mind

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3
Q

Dualism

A

The body and soul are different things

Physical and spiritual self

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4
Q

Plato- A dualist view

A
  • 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
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5
Q

The 3 parts of the soul

Plato

A
  • Spirit = emotional/spiritual side
  • Reason = intelligence
  • Desire = physical eg wanting food
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6
Q

Allegory of the charioteer

Plato

A

Your reason controls your spirit and desire

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7
Q

Life after Death: The Phaedo

plato

A
  • 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
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8
Q

Argument from opposites

Plato

A
  • 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
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9
Q

Argument from recollection

Plato

A
  • There are things we can know a priori like maths

- We remember things we already know from the world of the forms

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10
Q

Argument from Affinity

Plato

A
  • 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)
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11
Q

Peter Geach rejects Plato

A
  • 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)
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12
Q

Epicurus quote

A

“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.”

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13
Q

Aristotle- A weak dualist view

A
  • 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
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14
Q

Unlike Plato Aristotle believed that…

A
  • 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”

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15
Q

The 3 types of soul- bottom of the pyramid

A

Plants = vegetive or nutritive

  • Capable of nourishment
  • Ensure reproduction of species
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16
Q

The 3 types of soul- middle of the pyramid

A

Animal = perceptive soul

  • React to the world around them
  • Distinguishes between pain and pleasure
17
Q

The 3 types of soul- Top of the pyramid

A

Humans = higher degree of soul

  • Ability to reason
  • Can tell right from wrong
  • Makes us who we are
18
Q

Aristotles definition if the soul

A

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
19
Q

Plato strengths

A
  • More to humans that physiology
  • Allows for a metaphysical (beyond physical/ spiritual) soul
  • Dualist view
20
Q

Plato weaknesses

A
  • 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
21
Q

Aristotle strengths

A
  • Soul animates and is human existence (Peter Geach)
  • Reason distinguishes us from plants and animals
  • uses a posteriori knowledge as evidence
22
Q

Aristotle weaknesses

A
  • 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
23
Q

Descartes- A substance dualist view

A

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

24
Q

The body

Descartes

A
  • Can be known a posteriori
  • Dubitable (doubt)
  • Divisible
  • Takes up space
  • Extended
25
Q

The soul

Descartes

A
  • Can be known a priori
  • Indubitable
  • Indivisible
  • Takes up no space
  • Unextended (1 place)
26
Q

Relationship between the mind and the body

Descartes

A
  • 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
27
Q

Hume critisism

A

The body is doing what it is meant to- statistical conjunction

28
Q

Gilbert Ryle criticising dualism

Ghost

A 
Says Descartes is wrong
Thinks Descartes is describing a "ghost in the machine"
Ghost meaning soul
Machine meaning body
Soul controls body
29
Q

Gilbert Ryle criticising dualism

Pair of gloves

A
  • 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

30
Q

Dawkins- A mentalist view

A
  • 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)
31
Q

Meme’s

Dawkins

A

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

32
Q

Soul 1

Dawkins

A
  • Science is killing soul 1

- Soul 1 is the traditional soul (put forward by Plato) = meme

33
Q

Soul 2

Descartes

A
  • 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

Philosophy (3 decks)

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