Soul, Mind, Body Flashcards
Monism
Mind and body are one entity
Dualism
Mind and body are two separate entities
Materialism
Humans are purely physical beings
Substance Dualism
Body and soul are two wholly separate substances. The mind/soul does not depend on the body for existence
Aristotle’s view of body/soul
The soul is the animating principle of the body
How does P Geach support Aristotle?
‘Man is a sort of body, not a body plus an immaterial somewhat’
Identity Theory
All mental activity is centred in the brain and is a purely physical.
Dawkins view of body/soul
Hard materialism; Soul One and Soul Two
How does Dawkins describe Soul One?
Non- material life force; ‘mystic jelly’
How does Dawkins describe Soul Two?
Intellect, reason or consciousness
Name 2 issues of body/mind/soul
Personal identity and continuity
Describe the issue of peronal identity
What constitutes a person? Can what makes a person a person be isolated and identified?
Describe the issue of continuity
How am ‘I’ the same if my body or memory changes?
What are the elements of Plato’s tripartite soul?
Reason, appetite and spirit
What illustration describes Plato’s tripartite soul?
The charioteer - reason is at the helm, wayward horses of spirit and appetite
What is P Geach’s criticism of Plato?
He questions how can a disembodied soul see the forms since seeing is a physical process?
Plato’s argument from Knowledge
The soul has a priori knowledge from the World of the Forms and remembers the perfect and eternal Forms (concepts/ideals), for example recognizing beauty.
Plato’s argument from Opposites
Since life is something, death must also be something ? the moving of the soul to the world of the Forms.
For Aristotle, what does the soul?
The soul is not a substance but gives the form, shape or characteristics of an object.
List 4 examples Aristotle uses
Imprint in wax, eye and its ability to see, axe and its ability to chop, statue (formal cause)
Aristotle - faculties of the soul
Vegetative, appetitive and intellect
The main proponent of substance dualism
Descartes
Descartes’ reasons for his view
The body is divisible but the mind is not e.g. amputating a foot does not take anything away from the mind. The mind does not have parts ? it is the same mind that wills or understands something.
For Descartes, where the mind/body interact
The pineal gland
Descartes’ main critic
Gilbert Ryle “Concept of the Mind”
How did Ryle describe substance dualism?
Ghost in the machine
What did Ryle accuse Descartes of?
Category error
What are Ryle’s examples of category error?
Foreigner visiting Oxford University or watching a game of cricket; boy seeing Division of the army
What is the problem of interaction?
How can something non-spatial (soul) causally affect something spatial (body)?
Anscombe’s argument from intention
The meaning and significance behind the pointing, cannot be deduced by bodily action alone, it requires a description of the thought
Swinburne’s argument against materialism
Conscience, morality and personal identity cannot be explained without reference to a soul.
Ward’s argument against materialism
It is the soul which gives humanity its special dignity and sense of purpose
Aquinas’ view of the soul
It is the ?first principle of life?
