Have you seen The Matrix? It is based on Descartes' ideas about dreaming.
Can human qualities and behaviors,such as loving and hating, dreaming and hoping, struggling and striving,imagining and inventing, just be explained totally in terms of physiochemical processes?
If existences of our personalities are only associated with our bodies, how can there be life after the death of the body? Do our souls have personalities?
Can Descartes “I think therefore I am” philosophical belief be applied to determine who truly “is?” Do PVS patients exist in Descartes eyes?
Is there such a thing as self? Does one’s self live on after death (in terms of persistent personal identity)?
While I have never seen The Matrix, I was surprised by how earth shattering Descartes approach toward thinking about the universe was. While I understand that it was in reaction toward the political, social, and scientific upheaval of his time, I find it completely fascinating how he drew a proof for the existence of God, man, and the world from one simple foundation – “I think therefore I am.” His ideas about dreams and evil demons seem a bit farfetched, but can be understood when one acknowledges his radical doubt – “the primary rule of the game is to doubt everything that can be doubted” (Palmer 129). Luckily, Descartes was able to prove one thing existed, his thoughts. These thoughts cannot be doubted because in doubting thought, one is. While many of his ideas built off of this can be a bit shaky, this idea cannot be denied.
ReplyDeleteOne idea that does perplex me is the strong splitting that Descartes shows between the human mind/soul and body. Descates believed the body was “…only a mindless mechanical object” while the mind was the soul (Palmer 142). To Descartes all behavior was only physical manifestations of thought. I have to disagree with Descartes’ assertion, I believe the mind and the body are far more intertwined then he believes. By studying the human mind and body, I have come to understand just how much the brain/mind effects the body and vis versa – “the mind-body connection” as it is called. Like the second question asks, behaviors such as loving, hating, dreaming and hoping are thought about by the mind, but are felt in the body. When one ends a relationship, he or she often complains of a broken heart – his or her pain is both physical and mental. When one is hoping for something or in love, their heart races while they think of the hoped for situation or the loved person – the excitement is felt while it is thought about. Descartes purely logical take on the world is understandable, but does not explain the things in this world that cannot be measured: feelings, dreams, hopes. Descartes threw up his hands at these ideas, stating that they could never be understood or measured because the individual alone can understand his ideas and feelings. But without these taken into the view of the self, Descartes perspective falls flat. Palmer agrees, stating, “[Descartes’]…self is alienated from its body and from nature, and it believes itself to based on the certainty of divine approval and the possibility of eternal happiness, but it is, in fact, precariously close to eternal uncertainty, solitude, and madness” (Palmer 147).The self, without feelings such as hope, excitement, sorrow, is not really much of a self at all.
I have seen the Matrix many times. I believe that there is relevancy in the Matrix that coincides with Descartes’ ideas about dreaming. I don’t think that human qualities can be explained totally in terms of physiochemical processes. I believe our souls have personalities and our souls make up the person that we are, therefore there can be life after the death of our physical bodies. I don’t think Descartes’ “I think therefore I am” can determine who truly is because a person is more than just a mind. I believe that PVS patients do exist in Descartes eyes because even though PVS patients can not physically move they are still able to think. I believe there is such a thing as self, but I believe a person’s soul not self lives on after death.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the Matrix and the thought that our world could end up like that is highly disturbing. While I have always looked at this type of action movies as an anti technology or a warning against robots type, I have never looked at the movie for insight into human nature. The Matrix shows a future in which the reality perceived by most humans isn't real. They live in a stimulated reality created by robots. This allows them to pacify and subdue most of the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. This suggests that human emotions and feelings can be stimulated without actual bodily stimulation. I don’t think this necessarily suggests anything about human nature. It is scary the thought that our minds could really be subdued by fake stimulation. But I don’t think that helps to describe human nature.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is such thing as a self. No matter how different we are from one another, all of us share the common experience of undergoing numerous personal changes during our lives, and yet, for all of that, experiencing a persisting “self” of “I” over time. I believe it is the soul that accounts for this enduring personal identity. It is the soul that lives on after the body dies. So, if the soul accounts for self, then I would have to say that one’s self lives on after death since the soul is immortal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michelle’s view on the mind-body connection. To me, the body and mind rely on each other completely. The mind is what is able to control our body in some circumstances. Your mind knows right from wrong and is able to “talk” you out of harming your body or someone else. Although this doesn’t occur in everyone all of the time, it does occur and is a great example of how your body and mind interact. I do not believe the mind and body are completely separate. The mind has a unique personality that belongs to each person. Without a soul or mind, we would not be as individualistic as we are.
ReplyDeleteI beleive that our mind and our "subconscious" or whatever anyone would like to call it is really the underlying "soul" that is "transported/carried on" with us to the afterlife. So though our body and "mind" will be dead and "in the ground or cremated", however, our personality/soul will be with us. I do not believe that our mind cannot be without our body once we are living, however, once we die, I do believe that they can seperate. I feel that our dreams and our loving, hating, etc. are able to be more than just the physiological, psychological sense for something, whether it is a sign from God as some people believe dreams to be, or whatever, they happen and little to people's beliefs, we still don't know what really causes it. Ultimately, these answers are merely speculations and it really depends on each individual's beliefs on what afterlife truly means, what the "soul" is, what the "mind" is, etc. for a definition to be truly made.
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