For both Descartes and Plato it is necessary to define what exactly they mean when they say body and mind. Technically the mind is part of the body because after the brain is physically attached to the body. Do they mean the thoughts and memories associated with the mind because that too consists of a series of electrical signals. It can therefore be safely assumed that by the mind both Descartes and Plato mean the immaterial part or in other words the soul. If there is a soul then the life we life is merely physical and we should have no fear when we die. If the soul dies exists the question of the afterlife is still in question. It would seem to depend on the religious affiliation one would have would determine the outcome of the soul. Looking unbiasedly as possible, every soul will end up somewhere, the question of where is the highly debated part.
I agree with Plato and Descartes that humans are dualistic and possess both a mind (or soul) and a body. I think that the mind is immaterial and influences the brain which influences the material body, and that is how they are interconnected. When the physical, material body dies, the immaterial soul removes itself from the body and continues to exist infinitely. Where this existence of the soul is is different for certain groups of people and depends on their religious and cultural beliefs. I disagree with Plato though in saying that the soul has existed before the body that it eventually occupies was created and therefore will eternally exist afterward. Maybe it is because I like to think that my soul or mind are uniquely mine, but I think that the soul is what is the essence of a person and makes them who they are. I believe at birth they are instilled with this soul that is theirs from the moment they are born and continues after they die. Who instills this soul is again dependent on the beliefs of the specific person under consideration. I also do not think that when someone dies and the soul is separated from the body that it will eventually be in another persons body. I think that the soul of each individual after they die will exist individually in the state that they left the body in forever. Thinking of human nature as dualistic implies that there is an afterlife. If there is an immaterial part of a person than it ultimately would still exist when the material part was no longer present. What the appearance of the soul is and what form it takes once removed can be debated and where the soul actually goes, but believing in a dualistic nature, I believe, means also believing in some form of an afterlife.
I do believe that human nature is dualistic. It seems absurd, to me, to think that my inner self/soul is connected with my body and that my soul will, thus, perish at death. It also seems silly to think that the body will come with the soul into another realm, since the body clearly ages and is left behind when a person dies. While I agree with Plato’s and Descartes’ assertions about dualism, I feel that their definition of soul is not my definition. Plato and Descartes seem to combine “mind” and “soul” as one. While thought processes are very important in my conception of the soul, I also believe that there is so much more to the soul – memories, personality, learning experiences, and wisdom. I think that I best agree with the theological view of the soul. This position, as described by Barry, says ‘“The basic argument…is that while the mind dies with the body, the soul, or the “I” that “owns” body and mind, lives on”’ (97). I believe that “I” that controls the mind and body encapsulates all the aspects of the soul that I find so important.
If one believes in a dualistic nature, then one would have to believe in an afterlife of some sort. Where would the transcendent aspect of the self go if there was no afterlife? While it has seemed evident since the beginning of time that there is a force greater then humanity, (gods, spirits, God), there must be a place where they are and where the soul can end up. If humanity was of just one nature, like Monism suggests, “…death is equal to extinction.” It seems that one has to believe in humans’ two-part nature to believe in an afterlife.
I agree with Descartes & Plato that we are mind plus bodies. I believe that this means that our body is our external being. And our minds are what we enable our body to do on a given day. Our minds allow us to be our own individual and to have our own beliefs.I believe since we are a mind and body that there has to be an afterlife. I believe that our spirit will go on after we are dead but our body will remain on this earth.
Descartes states "I think, therefore I am." He concludes through this that a human being is essentially a "thing which thinks," and the "soul" means a "thinking being." The spiritual substance or “thinking being” can exist apart from its body, according to Descartes because the mind and soul are independent of one another and can be understood without referencing one another. However, Descartes also states that the mind defines us because we cannot conceive of ourselves without thinking. This makes me question: Can our souls conceive of ourselves if they too are different than the mind? Do we know or have thoughts when we no longer have a mind (i.e. we die). If the mind is thought of as mental actions of the brain and totally separate from the soul then is there persistence of identity? Can there be an afterlife? The idea that we are minds + bodies is very feasible. If the mind and the soul are considered the same, then the dual substance theory can be seen as a necessary philosophical foundation for all survival hypotheses. Belief that the inner self, soul, or mind can exist apart from the body is essential to the belief that the individual personality survives death, and is even immortal.
I believe that both Descartes and Plato are correct by believing that our minds are separate from our bodies. I think we as humans are dualistic. I wrote my paper on Plato, and I did agree more with his theory rather than Descartes. I agree with everything that Ashley had stated. I am going to state the obvious and say our body is external and our souls are internal. Are souls give us personality, and that is why each individual is unique in their own way. But the soul very much differs from our bodies. I stated in my paper that, although we die, I believe our souls go on forever, and I believe that there will be an afterlife.
Basically like everyone else I agree with Descartes and Plato and that human nature is dualistic. It's hard to picture that my personality and my beliefs are a part of my physical body. The body is just the physical carrier for our souls because our souls are the essence of who we are. When the body dies are souls still live on and I believe that my soul will go to Heaven. I can't imagine my soul dying once the body dies. That is just a horrible thought to have.
As everyone else has mentioned, I too agree that human nature is dualistic. I think our mind and brain are separated. I think our mind is the little that takes in our head all the time and is separated from the body. I think this because I have never learned about that voice and what biologically makes it occur. With that, I think the soul/mind are able to survive after death. I believe our soul is what goes to heaven and is met up with a perfect form of our old body so it can be identified by others in heaven.
I also agree that human nature is dualistic. More specifically, I agree with many of Plato’s views on the dualism of human nature. Plato’s Phaedo does an excellent job of differentiating the body and the soul. “The soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is the very likeness of the human, and mortal and unintelligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, and changeable.” Plato also believes that the soul exists before it ever comes to be embodied, and it will exist after it becomes permanently disembodied. This means that souls live on after the body has died. It is as though the soul is imprisoned in the body until the body can no longer be.
As everyone else has stated about agreeing to the dualistic nature of being human, I too, am adding one more agreement to the discussion. Humans' minds and bodies, I believe are seperated. I believe this for the mere fact that the brain, though it may be an anatomical portion of our body, its functioning is very much separated. Our body may be completely "gone/inept", however, our mind, may be fully functioning and aware of sensations (i.e. an individual in acoma with active brain waves). I believe that humans corporal bodies when they have deceased are buried/cremated, however, there is no mind to sensate the pain for the mind/soul, whatever, a person wishes to call it, I believe continues on to an afterlife. Though I am unsure of what exactly the afterlife is and whom it is with, I do hope that there is one.
For both Descartes and Plato it is necessary to define what exactly they mean when they say body and mind. Technically the mind is part of the body because after the brain is physically attached to the body. Do they mean the thoughts and memories associated with the mind because that too consists of a series of electrical signals. It can therefore be safely assumed that by the mind both Descartes and Plato mean the immaterial part or in other words the soul. If there is a soul then the life we life is merely physical and we should have no fear when we die. If the soul dies exists the question of the afterlife is still in question. It would seem to depend on the religious affiliation one would have would determine the outcome of the soul. Looking unbiasedly as possible, every soul will end up somewhere, the question of where is the highly debated part.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Plato and Descartes that humans are dualistic and possess both a mind (or soul) and a body. I think that the mind is immaterial and influences the brain which influences the material body, and that is how they are interconnected. When the physical, material body dies, the immaterial soul removes itself from the body and continues to exist infinitely. Where this existence of the soul is is different for certain groups of people and depends on their religious and cultural beliefs. I disagree with Plato though in saying that the soul has existed before the body that it eventually occupies was created and therefore will eternally exist afterward. Maybe it is because I like to think that my soul or mind are uniquely mine, but I think that the soul is what is the essence of a person and makes them who they are. I believe at birth they are instilled with this soul that is theirs from the moment they are born and continues after they die. Who instills this soul is again dependent on the beliefs of the specific person under consideration. I also do not think that when someone dies and the soul is separated from the body that it will eventually be in another persons body. I think that the soul of each individual after they die will exist individually in the state that they left the body in forever.
ReplyDeleteThinking of human nature as dualistic implies that there is an afterlife. If there is an immaterial part of a person than it ultimately would still exist when the material part was no longer present. What the appearance of the soul is and what form it takes once removed can be debated and where the soul actually goes, but believing in a dualistic nature, I believe, means also believing in some form of an afterlife.
I do believe that human nature is dualistic. It seems absurd, to me, to think that my inner self/soul is connected with my body and that my soul will, thus, perish at death. It also seems silly to think that the body will come with the soul into another realm, since the body clearly ages and is left behind when a person dies. While I agree with Plato’s and Descartes’ assertions about dualism, I feel that their definition of soul is not my definition. Plato and Descartes seem to combine “mind” and “soul” as one. While thought processes are very important in my conception of the soul, I also believe that there is so much more to the soul – memories, personality, learning experiences, and wisdom. I think that I best agree with the theological view of the soul. This position, as described by Barry, says ‘“The basic argument…is that while the mind dies with the body, the soul, or the “I” that “owns” body and mind, lives on”’ (97). I believe that “I” that controls the mind and body encapsulates all the aspects of the soul that I find so important.
ReplyDeleteIf one believes in a dualistic nature, then one would have to believe in an afterlife of some sort. Where would the transcendent aspect of the self go if there was no afterlife? While it has seemed evident since the beginning of time that there is a force greater then humanity, (gods, spirits, God), there must be a place where they are and where the soul can end up. If humanity was of just one nature, like Monism suggests, “…death is equal to extinction.” It seems that one has to believe in humans’ two-part nature to believe in an afterlife.
I agree with Descartes & Plato that we are mind plus bodies. I believe that this means that our body is our external being. And our minds are what we enable our body to do on a given day. Our minds allow us to be our own individual and to have our own beliefs.I believe since we are a mind and body that there has to be an afterlife. I believe that our spirit will go on after we are dead but our body will remain on this earth.
ReplyDeleteDescartes states "I think, therefore I am." He concludes through this that a human being is essentially a "thing which thinks," and the "soul" means a "thinking being." The spiritual substance or “thinking being” can exist apart from its body, according to Descartes because the mind and soul are independent of one another and can be understood without referencing one another. However, Descartes also states that the mind defines us because we cannot conceive of ourselves without thinking. This makes me question: Can our souls conceive of ourselves if they too are different than the mind? Do we know or have thoughts when we no longer have a mind (i.e. we die). If the mind is thought of as mental actions of the brain and totally separate from the soul then is there persistence of identity? Can there be an afterlife? The idea that we are minds + bodies is very feasible. If the mind and the soul are considered the same, then the dual substance theory can be seen as a necessary philosophical foundation for all survival hypotheses. Belief that the inner self, soul, or mind can exist apart from the body is essential to the belief that the individual personality survives death, and is even immortal.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both Descartes and Plato are correct by believing that our minds are separate from our bodies. I think we as humans are dualistic. I wrote my paper on Plato, and I did agree more with his theory rather than Descartes. I agree with everything that Ashley had stated. I am going to state the obvious and say our body is external and our souls are internal. Are souls give us personality, and that is why each individual is unique in their own way. But the soul very much differs from our bodies. I stated in my paper that, although we die, I believe our souls go on forever, and I believe that there will be an afterlife.
ReplyDeleteBasically like everyone else I agree with Descartes and Plato and that human nature is dualistic. It's hard to picture that my personality and my beliefs are a part of my physical body. The body is just the physical carrier for our souls because our souls are the essence of who we are. When the body dies are souls still live on and I believe that my soul will go to Heaven. I can't imagine my soul dying once the body dies. That is just a horrible thought to have.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has mentioned, I too agree that human nature is dualistic. I think our mind and brain are separated. I think our mind is the little that takes in our head all the time and is separated from the body. I think this because I have never learned about that voice and what biologically makes it occur. With that, I think the soul/mind are able to survive after death. I believe our soul is what goes to heaven and is met up with a perfect form of our old body so it can be identified by others in heaven.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that human nature is dualistic. More specifically, I agree with many of Plato’s views on the dualism of human nature. Plato’s Phaedo does an excellent job of differentiating the body and the soul. “The soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is the very likeness of the human, and mortal and unintelligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, and changeable.” Plato also believes that the soul exists before it ever comes to be embodied, and it will exist after it becomes permanently disembodied. This means that souls live on after the body has died. It is as though the soul is imprisoned in the body until the body can no longer be.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has stated about agreeing to the dualistic nature of being human, I too, am adding one more agreement to the discussion. Humans' minds and bodies, I believe are seperated. I believe this for the mere fact that the brain, though it may be an anatomical portion of our body, its functioning is very much separated. Our body may be completely "gone/inept", however, our mind, may be fully functioning and aware of sensations (i.e. an individual in acoma with active brain waves). I believe that humans corporal bodies when they have deceased are buried/cremated, however, there is no mind to sensate the pain for the mind/soul, whatever, a person wishes to call it, I believe continues on to an afterlife. Though I am unsure of what exactly the afterlife is and whom it is with, I do hope that there is one.
ReplyDelete