...Thet Paing Soe Professor James Rowe Philosophy 1500 14 May 2015 Prompt 1 The True Nature of Reality When it comes to describing the nature of our reality, philosophers have been in search of a system that truly and completely explains everything. It is noteworthy that numerous system have developed over the past few centuries. However, in this paper only four notable theories (dualism, materialism, idealism and transcendental idealism) will be explored. Each theories provide adequate explanation of reality but there are limitations and shortcomings when one contemplate carefully. The theories will be explored and critique by using the mind body problem, The Chinese room, the radical emergence theory. Moreover, one should consider which theory describes the nature of reality with least logical incoherencies. Substance Dualism is a theory that describes “mind and matter” as “two distinct things” (Nagel Thomas 206). Furthermore, substance dualism categorize matter as “physical or material substance” and mind or soul as “non-physical or immaterial substance” (Lacewing Michael) “Substance Dualism”). So, dualism is the proposal that human being as a living, thinking entity not only includes brain and physical matter but also a non-physical substance to account for the mind. The famous seventeenth century French philosopher René Descartes claimed that as “a subject of conscious thought and experience, he cannot consist of spatially extended matter”. He therefore states that “his...
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...Substance Dualism vs. Materialism At the center of the debate over human nature, the existence of free will, and the validity of science are two opposing viewpoints: materialism and dualism. Dualism is the belief that a person is made up of two kinds of substances: physical matter and above all else, an immaterial force known as the mind, or soul. Materialism refutes dualism, asserting that man and matter are inseparable, and that there is no mysterious, supernatural force directing our actions. Both viewpoints were derived in an attempt to place philosophy on firmer, more scientific ground. The arguments of Descartes and Hobbes for substance dualism and materialism, respectively, are representative of this debate. Although materialism and dualism have their own internal problems and flaws, I will argue that many of the objections that have been leveled against materialism can be met and that, on the whole, materialism is a much more plausible theory than dualism. The Greek philosopher Socrates believed that nothing could be certain without divine knowledge, which no man possesses. However, René Descartes, a 16th century French philosopher believed that some things could be determined to be certain as long as they were deduced through the proper methods. This method, known as the method of doubt, led Descartes to the foundational beliefs that became the basis for Substance Dualism. Simply put, Substance Dualism is the belief that there are two types of substances:...
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...Many would argue between the existence of the mind-body. One may say that the mind and body are two separate entities with distinct characteristics (Dualism). While on the other hand, some may say that there exists only one entity (Monism). The mind represents mental processes such as thoughts and consciousness. The body represents physical aspects of the brain, such as neurons and the formality of the brain. The debate over the mind-body existence have been constant through the teachings and influences of intelligent philosophers. Rene Descartes’ Meditation on First Philosophy, he states that there exists two different entities the mind and body and that they both interact with each other. Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind critiques Descartes’...
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...There is a major debate in philosophy called the mind and body debate. This is the debate about what gives us our personal identity as to whether it is our minds, our bodies or whether it is both. A number of philosophers have commented on the mind and body debate. These are dualists, monists and materialists all of which have theories explaining what gives us our personal identity. Dualists believe that the mind and body are separate, monists believe that the mind and body are one but can be separated and materialism is the view that there is no such thing as a mind or a soul and that when we die we die. Philosophers such as Plato and Descartes are dualists. In this dualist argument, Plato presents four arguments for the immortality of the soul which are cyclical – everything comes into existence from its opposite which sets up the cycle of birth and death, recollection- Plato believed that the knowledge we acquire is not learnt but remembered or recollected. Plato believed that the soul existed in a realm of forms before coming into the body, where it acquires this knowledge. As evidence of this he cites the slave boy who has no education but can grasp complex mathematical concepts just like the film ‘Good will hunting’, Affinity – Plato believed that the body has an affinity with the earth and that the soul has the affinity with the eternal real of forms. Because the soul is composite, at death it is dispersed at death and so it returns to the real of form to which it has...
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...FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA. A TERM PAPER TITLE:- “THE ESSENCE/SUBSTANCE OF MAN” BY FACULTY: SCIENCE DEPARTMENT: MICROBIOLOGY COURSE TITLE: PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC COURSE CODE: GST 205 CONTENT * Introduction * What is man * Philosophically * Scientifically * The essence and substance of man * What constitute man * Man as a dualist * Man as a monad * Man as a socialist * Man as a spiritual entity * Man as a physical entity * Intrinsic characteristics that man have in common * Illustration of the mental essence(when man is abnormal is he still half or full) INTRODUCTION The essence of man is the constituent of man which goes beyond his body alone but extends to his mind, soul, spirit and other attributes of man. But we cannot talk about the essence of man without the existence of man because without an existence of man, man’s essence is of no use and nothing to talk about. This brings about the proposition ‘existence precedes essence’. The proposition that existence precedes essence is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and immutable than its existence (the mere fact of its being). To existentialists, human beings—through their consciousness—create their own values and determine a meaning for their life because the human being does not possess any inherent identity or value. By posing the acts that constitute...
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...The universe is an amazing thing; the myriad of knowledge left unknown is phenomenal, and some philosophers are brave enough to dive into one of the greatest mysteries of time. Is the mind distinct form the body? Desecrates Dualism theory believed that the body and mind are 2 separate entities; there is the body (brain) which is a complex machine that helps our body move and react, and that there is the mind (soul) which is a distinct entity form the body, that he mind can operate all on its own if “disconnected” from the body. Meanwhile other philosophers through many diverse backgrounds believe that the mind and body are one “machine” and are not separate entities, that they are one and will always be one being. This belief is called materialism...
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...Religious philosophy can offer no firm evidence for distinction- Discuss Humans appear to have both a body and a mind, the body which is related to physical movements and appearances. And the mind which relates to feelings and emotions, qualia. Many philosophers therefore make a distinction between the mind and body, the dualist view that a person is made of two separate substances. On the other hand, some philosophers take a monist/ materialist view that the mind and the body are the same substance. This is a contentious area of philosophy, and has created a debate known as “the mind, body problem”. Such philosophers as Plato take a dualist view and try to offer evidence to suggest a distinction between the body and soul. Plato saw the body and soul as two separate entities. The soul that most closely resembles the divine and immortal. While the body resembles the human and mortal, which is endlessly changing and can be broken down. Plato was not trying to suggest the soul was perfect as it joined the body which it is inhibited by, however, he explains that by taking care of the soul the person can develop knowledge. Plato used evidence such as the “world of the forms”. He suggested that by taking care of the soul and ignoring physical pleasures the soul can return to the word of the forms when the body dies. For the body to survive it must meet its basic needs such as food, reproduction and physical pleasure. On the other hand for the mind to be stimulated it has other needs...
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...The consideration about the mind and the brain being an identical subject raises issues amongst the philosophers. In order to resolve these conflicts philosophers came up with four theories. These theories include dualism, functionalism, behaviourism and mind-brain identity theory. Each theory has its own perspectives toward the mind body related conflicts. There are oppositions between each theories as well as similarities. The most creditable and criticized theory can be said to be the mind-brain theory. The mind-brain theory states that the mind and the brain are one thing with different terminology. “At a certain point in the history of science, it was discovered that water is made of H₂O molecules…same point applies to the relationship of mental terms and neurophysiologic terms” (Sober, p.257). The mind-brain theory is compared to the science, where in the past when there was limited knowledge about a certain fact and how it was developed and changed dramatically over time like water and its molecular formula. By referring to the science, the mind-brain identity theory states that the current knowledge obtained to date is only limited and cannot prove the relationship of mind and the brain with facts. Since there is limited knowledge regarding this issue, as more knowledge is obtained through time, the mind-brain identity theory states that the relationship will be proven based on the future facts about the mind and the brain where it will show that they are one object...
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...Social Sciences and Humanities prof. Coleridge Chris Final essay “Brain vs Mind” [pic] Alessandro Acquaviva E060478 INDEX The Mind-Brain Problem 3 Background of the problem 4 Evaluating the three proposed solutions 6 Weak Dualism 7 Strong Dualism 9 The relevance of Parapsychology 11 Conclusions 12 The Mind-Brain Problem The mind-brain problem raises the question as to whether the mind is no more than the idle side-effect of our brain processes or whether the mind can, in some degree, influence behaviour. Here we rehearse the arguments on both sides plus some recent attempts to eliminate mind altogether. However contentious, the philosophical problem, as distinct from the physiological problem, can be stated quite simply as follows: What, essentially, is the relationship between events in the brain and those private, subjective experiences that together constitute our inner mental life? We need not assume here that consciousness is synonymous with mind - consciousness may well be no more than just one aspect of mind - but, with respect to the problem at issue, it is the existence of consciousness that is critical. Stated thus, the problem admits of only three basic answers: 1) Events in the brain, operating in accordance with the laws of physics, determine completely both our behaviour and our subjective experiences. 2) Mental events may be elicited by events in the brain or they may, in turn, elicit brain events and so influence...
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...Philosophy 2500 – Jaden Phan – 7:45 – 9:00 am. The clues of mental phenomena and its mystery Philosophy of human persons is always a difficult question for humankinds. We are the highest form of animals equipped with supreme functions. We not only have soul which is the principle of life, but we are also believed to have mind or consciousness which is much more functional, divine and peculiar to the soul. But often times, we are unaware of what we are having and how our body operates in our daily life. Therefore, many philosophers, psychologists, religionists or even mathematicians, and sciences have been actively trying to define the nature, attributes and affections of our brain/soul. There are many different views and perspectives on the soul and the mind-body problem, such as materialism, physicalism, dualism, mysterianism and so on… So, how exactly do we understand humankinds, and all living beings as a whole? How exactly do we understand our own self? Do both material and immaterial parts exist? If so, how do they relate to each other? Although most of these questions have convincing answers, I believe we are still in the mystery of defining the true nature of mental phenomena. (1) Thomas Nagel said that: “Conscious experience is a widespread phenomenon. It occurs at many levels of animal life, though we cannot be sure of its presence in the simpler organisms...” His main thesis is that fundamentally an organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is something...
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...check of blood flow (pulse), heart beat and respiration. It is generally accepted that once a body exhibits brain stem death, i.e. that there is no activity in the most primitive part of the brain, that death has occurred. What makes a human being? Theories concerning life after death are all interested in whether or not there is a part of the human body which survives the death of all the physical parts and where (or indeed when) it goes. There are a number of theories exploring what makes up a human being, but the basic distinction that you need to be aware of, is the distinctions between the materialist, monist and the dualist approaches. The distinction was basically started by the divergent opinions of the two great Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle; Plato being a dualist and Aristotle being a monist. Later thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and...
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...The Mind-Brain Problem JOHN BELOFF Department of psycho log^, George Square, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, Scotland Abstract-The mind-brain problem, which is still with us, raises the question as to whether the mind is no more than the idle side-effect of our brain processes or whether the mind can, in some degree, influence behavior. Here we rehearse the arguments on both sides plus some desperate recent attempts to eliminate mind altogether. What is the Problem? However contentious, the philosophical problem, as distinct from the physiological problem, can be stated quite simply as follows: What, essentially, is the relationship between events in the brain and those private, subjective, introspectible experiences that together constitute our inner mental life? We need not assume here that consciousness is synonymous with mind-consciousness may well be no more than just one aspect of mind-but, with respect to the problem at issue, it is the existence of consciousness that is critical. Stated thus, the problem admits of only three basic answers: (1) Events in the brain, operating in accordance with the laws of physics, determine completely both our behavior and our subjective experiences. (2) Mental events may be elicited by events in the brain or they may, in turn, elicit brain events and so influence the course of our behavior (I use here the word 'elicit' rather than 'cause' advisedly since the kind of causation here envisaged is so unlike ...
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...been intrigued by the mind and how it works. What a lot of people do not realize is that psychology evolved from ideas of the early philosophers into a science all of its own. I will start by going over the early philosophers that constituted the beginning of psychology. I will also examine the Western philosophers who largely contributed to the formation of psychology as a formal discipline. Finally, I will explore how psychology developed into a “true” science in the 19th century. When we look back at where psychology began at, we must first look at Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (470-320 B. C.). They were the first to start questioning the mind and its processes. Socrates influenced science as a whole by creating hypotheses and then eliminating those which were not possible. One of psychology’s main processes is asking questions to learn. Plato, who was a student of Socrates, outlined three aspects of the psyche which were: reason, feeling and appetite. He also wrote about the biformity of the psyche and the connection between mind and body (Hergenhahn, 2009). Plato’s ideas were a lot like those of Freud’s notions about the id, ego and superego. Aristotle, who studied under Plato, wrote De Anima, which is considered to be the first book on the history psychology. He built on the ideas of Plato, and other philosophers, about the psyche. Though he was more interested in studying psychological phenomena in biological terms, so many consider him the...
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...Consciousness and its Place in Nature David J. Chalmers 1 Introduction1 Consciousness fits uneasily into our conception of the natural world. On the most common conception of nature, the natural world is the physical world. But on the most common conception of consciousness, it is not easy to see how it could be part of the physical world. So it seems that to find a place for consciousness within the natural order, we must either revise our conception of consciousness, or revise our conception of nature. In twentieth-century philosophy, this dilemma is posed most acutely in C. D. Broad’s The Mind and its Place in Nature (Broad 1925). The phenomena of mind, for Broad, are the phenomena of consciousness. The central problem is that of locating mind with respect to the physical world. Broad’s exhaustive discussion of the problem culminates in a taxonomy of seventeen different views of the mental-physical relation.2 On Broad’s taxonomy, a view might see the mental as nonexistent (“delusive”), as reducible, as emergent, or as a basic property of a substance (a “differentiating” attribute). The physical might be seen in one of the same four ways. So a fourby-four matrix of views results. (The seventeenth entry arises from Broad’s division of the substance/substance view according to whether one substance or two is involved.) At the end, three views are left standing: those on which mentality is an emergent characteristic of either a physical substance or a neutral substance,...
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...article,the possibility of immortality. 2.Well,according to my understanding,the most important key terms are immortality,continuer and spatial-temporal continuity. Immortality is something can be existed after people's physical body died.With the help of god,something like soul or spirit can be preserved and exist forever is immortality. Continuer is not the same person as the original deceased person , it is just a fissioned one,which lives in another space,is the continue existence of the deceased. Spatial-temporal continuity is the necessary condition of personal identity. Also,it provides the possibility for the immortality. 3.(1)From wikipedia,Peter van Inwagen (born September 21, 1942, United States) is an American analytic philosopher and the John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He previously taught at Syracuse University and earned his PhD from the University of Rochester under the direction of Richard Taylor and Keith Lehrer. Van Inwagen is one of the leading figures in contemporary metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of action. (2)In this article,Peter van Inwagen introduced the readers the causal relevant matter of immortality.he refers to it as the “naked kernel”,the seed that continues to exist until God "clothes it in a festal garment of new flesh".He also...
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