Soul Mind Body Chapter 4 Flashcards
Plato’s view of the soul
Exists in realm of forms and is immortal
Simple substance can’t be destroyed
No beginning or end
Nothing material is permanent so in order for soul to be permanent and certain it is spritual
Aristotle’s view of the soul
3 elements
Vegetative, appetitive and intellectual
Not immortal dies with you
Why Christianity rejects Plato
Plato argues soul has no beginning but Christians believe God created each soul
Christians believe any immortality given is a gift from God not a given
Christians reject that soul can be destroyed because it denies God’s omnipotence
3 elements of Aristotle’s soul and what they do
Vegetative is in all living things including plants
Appetitive soul is in animals and humans, where we find passion and appetites such as hunger, sexual desire and emotions
Intellectual only in humans. Rational and directive, makes decisions includes memory
What does Plato say about the relationship of the body and soul
Soul is trapped in the body and desires to get out
Assumes that if our minds know the right things to do somehow the whole person will do it
Problem with Plato’s view on the relationship of body and soul
Assuming reasons are causes
Common Problem with dualism
How do the body and soul link
Common problem with monism
Human consciousness has qualities of imagination memory artistic skills - not needed for survival
Purely material account struggles to explain such features
Descartes view
Extreme substance dualism
Questions of any knowledge is certain, only ‘the cognito’ is certain knowledge
Explains link using pineal gland
Gilbert Ryles view
Refutes Descartes
Describes his view as the ghost in time machine
Argues he is guilty of a category error assuming mind and matter are of the same logical type
Not contrary to Christian belief
Peter Beach’s view
Superstition to believe in dualism
Rejects Plato and Descartes
Agrees with Aristotle
John Hicks view
Opposes Plato because it’s un-Christian
No mind without matter so not a reductionist
We are bodies but may have a spiritual dimension- similar to Aristotle
G.E.M Anscombe view
Phenomenon of pointing
Materialism and a problem with it
Only physical matter exists
Reductionism
Some questions if every act in our conscious is reducible
Richard Dawkins
Materialists Rejects Plato and Descartes No empirical evidence for such entity 2 souls Soul 1- traditional thought Soul 2 - intellectual and spiritual Both in body can’t be explained yet
