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Summary Philosophy - Soul body and mind
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An in-depth summary of the mind-body-soul argument between distinct philosophers of Descartes, Plato, Aristotle, and Gilbert Ryle.
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Aperçu du contenu
• materialist critiques of dualism, and dualist responses to materialism• whether the concept of ‘soul’ is best understood metaphorically or as a
reality
• the idea that any discussion about the mind-body distinction is a category
error
Substance Dualists - Mind and body are separate
Descartes was a mercenary and rationalist philosopher. He arrived at his
theory of the soul as a result of intense scepticism about what could be
known. Descartes used an evil demon as an example. The demon
tricks you into believing that your sensory evidence is true. Yet, it is
purely fictional. How can you be certain that this is not the case? The
point is that you cannot be positive that this is not the case. Even if
you accept that there is a deceiver, being tricked implies that there
is a 'you.'
Descartes frames this as Cogito Ergo Sum or 'I think, therefore I am'.
we can be certain that there is a cognitive substance or 'thought,' and we
can be positive that it is not the same as matter due to the indivisibility
argument and the Method of doubt.
I am aware that my mind exists, but I am not sure that my body
exists; so, the mind and body must be two distinct things (because if
they were the same thing, we would be able to be certain the body
existed as well). Thus, the mind and body are not the same.
Descartes asserts that the main distinction is that a person remains the
same even after losing a leg since the body is divisible because it is
expanded. Yet, the mind cannot be divided into parts since it
cannot be expanded; as a result, they both have different properties
therefore there are separate substances
Evaluation - Criticisms
Substance dualism does account for some features of consciousness
that materialism finds difficult to explain.
, However, Descartes’ theory fails to give a coherent account of how mind
and body interact when one is physical/spatial and the other non-
physical/non-spatial.
The mind is divisible. The mind can be divided into perception,
memory, emotions and so on. So, the mind and body share the same
property of divisibility and thus could be identical.
This attacks P2, the premise that the mind is indivisible, in which case
the mind does have the same properties as the physical body, making
the indivisibility argument false.
Plato -
Plato was a dualist and believed that the soul is deformed through its
association with the body. The soul is separable from the body and as it
is non-material, it is, in a sense, indestructible.
The soul existent prior to birth, has all knowledge from the realm of
forms but the body gets knowledge from sense data. “The prison of the
soul”
The Charioteer analogy helps to understand the tripartite (threefold)
nature of the soul:
Two horses (will and appetite) are controlled by the charioteer (reason).
Plato believed that unless the charioteer kept control on the reins, will
(the weaker horse) would be dragged in the direction that appetite (the
stronger horse) wanted to go.
Plato claims we have innate knowledge that helps us make
comparisons, which can only come from the world of the Forms. So our
souls pre-existed our physical bodies in this world.
As the soul (not the body) grasps the Forms, then the soul must belong
to that world too. So it is unchangeable and indivisible, just as the Forms
are.
Aristotle
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