plato, aristotle, descartes, substance dualism, materialism, criticisms and category error d
dualism
belief in two separate elements - body and soul
substance dualism
the body and soul are wholly different substances
psyche
greek for mind/soul
materialism
the body and soul are one material substance
reductionism
everything can be reduced to statements about physical bodies
behaviourism
all mental states are learned behaviours
qualia
subjective qualities of experience
soul
the non-physical essence of a person
category error
a problem of language that arises when things are talked about as if they belong to one category when they in fact belong to another
scepticism
a questioning approach which does not take assumptions for granted
ockham's razor
used against dualism - the simplest solution is most likely the right one
ship of theseus
the question that - if a ships parts are gradually replaced over time until none of the original parts remain, is it still the same ship? regards how personal identity sustains itself over time
plato's chariot allegory
the soul consists of three horses (parts) - reason, will, and desire - each seeks different things, and the charioteer (person) must work out which goals are best to pursue
identity theory
a form of materialism that argues mental states can be reduced to and are identical to brain states
"i think, therefore i am"
rene descartes argues that his existence is definitely true since his ability to think proves that there must at least be a thinker
the ghost in the machine
gilbert ryle's title for descarte's theory. there is no mind which exists separately to the body and so to search for one is a category mistake.
the world of forms
where plato believes the soul pre-existed the body and where it will return after the body dies p
plato's argument from recollection
learning is just a matter of remembering what the soul has already seen and already knows
leibniz' principle of identicals
two substances are identical if they share the same properties
descartes' divisibility argument
the mind and the body share different properties (substance dualism)
john searle's problemof interaction
issue with dualism: how can immaterial mental states cause physical reaction?
swinburne objects materialism
defends the idea that humans have distinct souls which survive after death. uses near-death experiences as proof of life after death.
plato's view on the soul
the soul is non-material and separable from the body. it is indestructible but deformed through association with the body. the soul is the form of the body
aristotle's view on the soul
the soul is material and inseparable from the body. when the body dies, the soul dies with it.
aristotle's wax seal analogy
when heated wax is imprinted with a seal, the two cannot be separated. much like how the soul is imprinted on the body. also, when the wax breaks (body dies), the seal breaks with it (body also dies)
chalmers hard problem of consciousness
no explanation of physcial processes can explain what it is like to undergo conscious experience (qualia). physical explanations miss how it truly feels to undergo an experience such as sadness