SOUL BODY MIND ESSAY PLANNING DOCUMENT
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SUBSTANCE DUALISM IS A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF
BODY AND SOUL
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SOULS ARE IMMORTAL
CRITICALLY COMPARE PLATOS SUBSTANCE DUALISM WITH ARISTOTLE PROPERTY DUALISM
TO WHAT EXTENT IS MATERIALISM A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF BODY MIND
AND SOUL
EVALUATE DUALISM
DOES THE SOUL EXIST
SHOULD THE SOUL AS A SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE BE REJECTED
CAN CONSCIENCE BE FULLY EXPLAINED BY PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS
THERE IS A SOUL BUT IT CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM THE BODY- HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE
IS THE CONCEPT OF SOUL BEST UNDERSTOOD METAPHORICALLY OR AS A REALITY
THE SOUL IS THE WAY THE BODY BEHAVES AND LIVES- DISCUSS
ANALYSE THE METAPHYSICS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
DISCUSSION OF THE MIND-BODY DISTINCTION IS A CATEGORY ERROR- CRITICALLY ASSES THIS
VIEW
ASSES THE PHILOSOPHICAL LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL, MIND AND BODY IN PLATO AND ARISTOTLE’S
WORK
CRITICALLY COMPARE DESCARTES AND ARISTOTLES VIEW OF THE SOUL
, SUBSTANCE DUALISM/ DESCARTES
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SUBSTANCE DUALISM IS A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF
BODY AND SOUL (40)
INTRO:
What is substance dualism = as a response to the mind-body problem it states that the mind and the body are
two separate things- the soul lives on after the death of the body
- Ideas of Rene Descartes, an extreme extension of Plato’s dualism
My line of argument = his views are too extreme and he leaves too many unanswered questions- such as how the
mind and body are able to work together
PARA 1: I THINK THEREFORE I AM
Against- Descartes views
- “ I think therefore I am”
- He says we cant be certain we have our bodies, because our senses can deceive us (phantom limb)
- But we can be certain we have our minds because we are able to think
- And if we are certain about one but not the other- they cannot be the same thing
- He adds to this by saying the body takes up space but the mind doesn’t- the body has separate parts but
the mind doesn’t- which can be supported by plato
For- why this doesn’t work
- There are many flaws in his argument- his biggest critics was RYLE
- Ryle says that Descartes is making a category error by separating the mind and the body
- Category error = to confuse items of different categories
- He says that the mind is no “ghost in a machine”- it is not a thing at all- it’s the machine that does
whatever its function is not a hidden ghost inside of it
So- Ryle highlights some fundamental flaws in substance dualism- cannot be convinced by the concept
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SUBSTANCE DUALISM IS A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF
BODY AND SOUL
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SOULS ARE IMMORTAL
CRITICALLY COMPARE PLATOS SUBSTANCE DUALISM WITH ARISTOTLE PROPERTY DUALISM
TO WHAT EXTENT IS MATERIALISM A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF BODY MIND
AND SOUL
EVALUATE DUALISM
DOES THE SOUL EXIST
SHOULD THE SOUL AS A SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE BE REJECTED
CAN CONSCIENCE BE FULLY EXPLAINED BY PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS
THERE IS A SOUL BUT IT CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM THE BODY- HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE
IS THE CONCEPT OF SOUL BEST UNDERSTOOD METAPHORICALLY OR AS A REALITY
THE SOUL IS THE WAY THE BODY BEHAVES AND LIVES- DISCUSS
ANALYSE THE METAPHYSICS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
DISCUSSION OF THE MIND-BODY DISTINCTION IS A CATEGORY ERROR- CRITICALLY ASSES THIS
VIEW
ASSES THE PHILOSOPHICAL LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL, MIND AND BODY IN PLATO AND ARISTOTLE’S
WORK
CRITICALLY COMPARE DESCARTES AND ARISTOTLES VIEW OF THE SOUL
, SUBSTANCE DUALISM/ DESCARTES
ASSES THE VIEW THAT SUBSTANCE DUALISM IS A VALID APPROACH TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS OF
BODY AND SOUL (40)
INTRO:
What is substance dualism = as a response to the mind-body problem it states that the mind and the body are
two separate things- the soul lives on after the death of the body
- Ideas of Rene Descartes, an extreme extension of Plato’s dualism
My line of argument = his views are too extreme and he leaves too many unanswered questions- such as how the
mind and body are able to work together
PARA 1: I THINK THEREFORE I AM
Against- Descartes views
- “ I think therefore I am”
- He says we cant be certain we have our bodies, because our senses can deceive us (phantom limb)
- But we can be certain we have our minds because we are able to think
- And if we are certain about one but not the other- they cannot be the same thing
- He adds to this by saying the body takes up space but the mind doesn’t- the body has separate parts but
the mind doesn’t- which can be supported by plato
For- why this doesn’t work
- There are many flaws in his argument- his biggest critics was RYLE
- Ryle says that Descartes is making a category error by separating the mind and the body
- Category error = to confuse items of different categories
- He says that the mind is no “ghost in a machine”- it is not a thing at all- it’s the machine that does
whatever its function is not a hidden ghost inside of it
So- Ryle highlights some fundamental flaws in substance dualism- cannot be convinced by the concept
