Soul, Mind & Body Flashcards
Why is the mind-body question significant?
It questions the link between physical matter (body and brain) and non-physical elements (thought and consciousness), exploring whether we are purely physical or if we have an immortal soul.
What is the traditional view of the soul?
The soul is considered the “real” self, separate from the body, and capable of living on after physical death.
What is the materialist view of the self?
The self is nothing more than a body and a brain, meaning consciousness and thought arise from physical processes alone.
What is the debate around whether the soul is a “thing”?
The body is physical and takes up space, while the soul is often considered non-physical; some argue that the soul is merely a label for spirituality rather than an actual substance.
What is Plato’s view on the soul?
Plato, influenced by Pythagoras, believed in dualism, arguing that the soul is an immortal and indestructible substance that pre-exists and outlives the body.
What is the relationship between the soul and the body in Plato’s philosophy?
The soul is trapped in the body, longing to return to the realm of Forms after death, making life a process of trying to attain knowledge of true reality.
How does Plato compare the soul and body in Phaedo?
He describes the soul as divine and the body as human, reinforcing the idea that the soul is eternal and separate from the body.
What problem arises from Plato’s view of the soul?
If the soul exists before and after life, it raises questions about where it was before birth and where it goes after death.
How did Plato’s views influence Christianity?
While not fully aligned with Christianity (since God creates and can destroy souls), his ideas contributed to the notion that the body is inferior to the soul.
How does Aristotle’s view on the soul differ from Plato’s?
Aristotle rejected Plato’s realm of Forms and saw the soul as the “form” of the body—its essential characteristic, rather than a separate, non-physical entity.
What are the three types of soul in Aristotle’s philosophy?
Vegetative soul (plants) – responsible for basic life functions.
Appetitive soul (animals) – responsible for desires and emotions.
Intellectual soul (humans) – rational and directive.
What is a major weakness of Aristotle’s view on the soul?
Francis Bacon argued that Aristotle’s formal causation was beyond scientific study, and modern neuroscience suggests rationality is reducible to brain structure, undermining Aristotle’s idea of an immaterial soul.
What is the counterargument to Aristotle’s critics?
Science has yet to fully explain consciousness and reason, meaning Aristotle’s explanation of the soul as the form of the body cannot be entirely dismissed.
What is the counter-counterargument to Aristotle’s defense?
Neuroscience has linked brain damage to impaired reasoning, suggesting that mental faculties are reducible to brain function rather than an Aristotelian form.
How does Aquinas define the soul?
He sees the soul as the “first principle of life”—not a body itself but the force that animates the body.
How does Aquinas’ view differ from Plato’s?
Unlike Plato, Aquinas does not see the soul as the true “self,” but rather as a component that enables bodily life.
What is Descartes’ theory of substance dualism?
He argued that there are two distinct substances:
Mental substance (thinking, non-physical)
Physical substance (extended in space, measurable)
What is Descartes’ indivisibility argument?
The body is divisible (can be broken into parts), but the mind is indivisible, proving that the two must be separate substances.
What is the criticism of Descartes’ indivisibility argument?
The mind can be divided into different faculties (memory, perception, emotions), meaning it is not truly indivisible.
What is the interaction problem in dualism?
If the mind and body are separate, how do they interact? Mental thoughts seem to cause physical actions, but dualism provides no clear explanation.
How did Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia criticize Descartes’ dualism?
She argued that only physical things can interact with physical things, making it impossible for a non-physical mind to influence a physical body.
How did Descartes try to solve the interaction problem?
He proposed that the mind and body interact via the pineal gland.
Why is Descartes’ pineal gland solution weak?
He offered no evidence, and scientists later found that all animals have a pineal gland, undermining his claim that it was unique to humans.
How does modern physics challenge substance dualism?
The principle of causal closure in physics suggests that nothing outside the physical universe can affect it, contradicting dualism’s idea of a non-physical mind influencing a physical body.
What was Gilbert Ryle’s critique of Descartes?
He argued that Descartes made a category error, treating the mind as a separate substance rather than a function of the body.
What is Ryle’s analogy for the category error?
He compared it to a man looking at university buildings and asking, “Where is the university?”—failing to realize the university is the sum of its parts, just as the mind is the function of the body.
How does John Hick’s “soft materialism” differ from strict materialism?
He believes we are physical beings with a spiritual dimension, but the soul is not separate from the body.
What is materialism?
The view that humans are purely physical beings, with all mental processes reducible to brain activity and chemical interactions.
What is Richard Dawkins’ stance on the soul?
He rejects the idea of a disembodied soul, arguing that all human experience arises from physical processes.
What are Dawkins’ “Soul One” and “Soul Two”?
Soul One – the traditional, immortal soul.
Soul Two – intellectual, spiritual power, and moral faculties that emerge from the brain.
How does David Chalmers criticize materialism?
He distinguishes between the “easy problem” (mapping brain functions) and the “hard problem” (explaining subjective consciousness), arguing that neuroscience has made little progress on the latter.
