Theories Of Personhood Flashcards
Why did Decartes believe our senses deceive us? (2) How did he link that to his own existence? (1)
We think wax is a solid, but it can be a liquid too. We are not aware of its true nature when we perceive it.
When we dip a stick in water, the light refracts the image, making us think it is misshapen but it is not. Our senses deceive us.
The fact that our senses are deceived lets Descartes realise that the fact he is being deceived can reassure himself of his own existence at least. He must exist in order to be able to be deceived.
Explain ‘Avaita Vedanta’ (Hindu) personhood (5)
It is a kind of monism in that it holds that everything is of one essence.
It is a relational understanding of personhood as everyone, and everything, is understood to be part of one Absolute Reality.
The Absolute Reality in advaita vedanta is Brahman and its nature is beyond human explanation.
Brahman is a concept close to our understanding of God. People are all connected through Brahman.
Their dependency on and connection with one another can be seen in the Hindu concept of karma, or that our actions impact on our destiny.
Explain materialism (4)
A monist point of view as it is the view that people are only of one nature: entirely physical.
Thus for materialists there is no such thing as a soul.
From this point of view all our mental characteristics are simply the result of physical processes.
The person dies and comes to an end when the body dies from this point of view.
Where do the Kanak live (1)
Caledonia, Melanasia
Explain the Hindu sociocentric sense of personhood (8)
Dumont argues that any sense of individuality is secondary to the most stronger sense of being part of a group.
Most Hindus believe in rebirth meaning every newborn is re born person so not entirely new.
One is born a member of a particular caste so they’re already attached to their social group.
Life is dictated by karma (fate) and dharma (destiny when one begins to make it’s own decisions.
Life is a journey - the destination a person is aiming to reach is self realisation, a spiritual awakening that allows the individual to feel complete and content.
When someone dies the process of reincarnation takes place.
The caste you are born into is determined by the morality of your actions in your previous life.
Sociocentric view
Explain the Buddhist view of personhood (7)
Focuses on personal and spiritual development.
The essence of Buddhism is to reach a stage where you’re enlightened.
This occurs through a life which avoids self indulgence and self denial.
Rejects the idea of self - Buddha learnt after meditation beneath a tree, that suffering is caused by ignorance and clinging to a false notion of self.
The idea of self does not exist - it’s just a conventional name given to a set of elements.
Belief in rebirth however they goal is to break the cycle and enter nirvana - enlightenment.
Due to the fact they’re against violence at all costs and that their beliefs in rebirth also include animals or other beings alongside humans, Buddhism is considered biocentric.
Explain Morris’s study of Malawi personhood (8)
They recognise that humans are a distinct form of living entity but being human does not mean that one is a person in the cultural sense.
Humans are distinct from animals as they each have their own species physical characteristics.
Humans differ from animals not so much due to the fact they have free will or consciousness but because they have it to a greater degree than animals.
Humans and animals are kin.
They’re therefore anthropomorphic.
For example when Morris asked what the difference was between a baboon and a human, they replied that the baboon has a tail.
The individual has no soul but is usually the embodiment of a ancestral spirit, usually a grandparent of the same sex.
Children who die do not turn into proper ancestral spirits so therefore their personhood is only partial.
Explain strathern’s study of Melanesian personhood (5)
In the highland societies of New Guinea a human being isn’t considered a complete person until they’ve acquired basic categories of local culture.
Personhood is therefore gained gradually from birth as the child becomes more familiar with the shared customs and values of the culture he/she inhabits.
A person is not considered dead until all their debut are repaid and the inheritance has been distributed.
Only when all social relationships of the dead person have been formally ended can the person be pronounced dead.
They see people in a similar light to social scientists, in terms of relationships with others.
Explain objibwa personhood (3)
They communicate with spirits through dreams who guide then through life.
Winds, the sun and the moon are categorised as persons.
Animistic
Explain Decartes ‘Cartesian dualism’ (4)
Descartes believes that people are made of two separate and distinct substances: mind and body.
The mind is immaterial or incorporeal, which means it is not physical. This we call the soul.
The body is material or corporeal, in other words physical, which is the part of us that can decay, whereas the mind or soul, according to Descartes, is permanent and lasts forever.
While the position is by far not universally held in the West today, it is a key reason why the language of mind and body are with us and why we sometimes think they might be slightly different things. His thought was highly influential.
