...and to die, but how do you know that the soul is a soul that already existed? How do you know that the soul isn't obliterated when you die and that a new soul is born with a new body? In Phaedo Plato uses dialogue to explore all these ideas,which are formed through reasoning. All that he thinks is not told explicitly but discovered by questioning and use of the intellect. In the exact way that he describes, the question is not asked, what do you see, its always what do you think. The processes of thinking things through leads you to the arguments he presents for the immortality of the soul. Socrates never tells me what to think he only presents ideas and allows the conversation for my own thinking to develop. The process of reading this is in line with the way of life for a philosopher who is seeking truth. Even in his last moments, Socrates is taking time to discuss these ideas with his colleagues. If this is what he is doing before he dies, this is another way he shows me that this is the proper way to live. The body can’t exist without soul but the soul can exist without the soul. The body needs its opposite since it is mortal. But the soul being immortal does not need body to reach beyond itself. This is why Socrates views death in a positive light. He seeks lives in the soul which is done through understanding and the intellect and this is the life of a philosopher. opposites. In the generation of the idea of the opposites you need the idea of "after having been" for...
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...Philosophy of religion Why is there evil in the world created by a God who is moral, all powerful and perfect? God is moral, all powerful and perfect. He is also which none greater can be conceived. Any attribute of God is overwhelmingly superior to anything we can fathom. So when we try to measure and configure god’s motives, we are really setting ourselves in a maze. One argument is that, due to mankind's limited knowledge, humans cannot expect to understand God or God's ultimate plan. When a parent takes an infant to the doctor for a regular vaccination to prevent some childhood disease, it's because the parent cares for and loves that child. The young child, however, will almost always see things very differently. It is argued that just as an infant cannot possibly understand the motives of its parent while it is still only a child, people cannot comprehend God's will in their current physical and earthly state. Now why is there evil in the world if God is so supreme. Augustine had his view on why evil exist if god is so good. Augustine based his theodicy on his reading of key Biblical passages: Genesis 3 and Romans 5:12-20 Genesis 3 is the story of Adam and Eve and their ‘”fall” in the Garden of Eden. In it the snake convinces the woman to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The woman picks the fruit, and passes some to Adam. Because of their disobedience God has them evicted from the garden. In Romans 5 Paul describes...
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...truths and he tries to proof to people that the immortal soul exists that is why he does not fear death. Socrates tries to let people know that there is life after death by proving himself right; he is not afraid of death. For instance, “Socrates claims that the death is nothing more than the separation of the soul from the body and although some group of people denies it, the soul is immortal considering the cycle of life and death, the theory of recollection and the affinity argument” (Makaleler). Makaleler tells the audience that Socrates is so certain that the soul is immortal. He also says death is just the soul leaving the body, yet many people don’t believe what he says. People denies Socrates’ way of thinking is mainly because they are scared of changes, they fear the unknown of what exactly will happen to them when the soul leaves the body. This is a good example of why Socrates is not a sophist because if he was a sophist he would have collected money then tell people what they want to hear, as this quotes states people do not believe in him. Socrates is not trying to please anyone to get money, he is just stating what the divine voice had told him. Again, “The soul can be considered as immortal since according to the rules of dialectics life and death exist together, people have inexplicable “deja vu” memories and knowledge and the soul is invisible and divine” (Makaleler). Like Makaleler states, the soul is something invisible and divine and no one could see it...
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...influenced man and vice-versa. What is philosophy and why is it necessary that we provide the philosophy account of man? The challenge here and the probable answers to the question raised rest on our ability to understand and correctly define first what philosophy is and from there we proceed to give reasons why it must be built on some foundation of man, in this case a philosophic account (foundation). Philosophy most time deals with the probe into the essential nature of things. Based on approach, philosophy can have different definition. To understand that which is philosophical, we must first appreciate what ‘philosophy’ is before explaining the attitudes that derives from it, which is the ‘philosophical’. The term philosophy is derived from two Greek words, ‘Philo’ which means ‘Love” and ‘Sophia’ which means ‘Wisdom’. Thus, literally, ‘philosophy’ is ‘love of wisdom’. Love is a feeling in the head or in the heart that makes us depending on who we are and who we are relating with. My love feeling for example towards my dog would not be the same love feeling to my siblings neither will it be the same with that for my parents and in particular that for my mother. The point here is that we cannot appreciate that which is philosophical if we only limit ourselves to the etymological definition of the word philosophy. Perhaps we may know what wisdom is and from there infer that whatever is philosophical must have something to do with wisdom and if it is so, then philosophy can only...
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...In Dante’s Inferno, there are nine circles of Hell. But there is this outer layer right before the first circle, where the souls are rejected by both Heaven and Hell. After reading the famous words, “Abandon every hope, all you who enter,” (p.14 line 9) Dante and Virgil enter this lonely land of indecisive souls. To me, this is the worst layer of Hell. There is so many horrid things within this layer of Hell and throughout this paper I will argue why I think this is the worst part of Hell. The opening of Canto III starts with bold-capitalized words on a sign at the gates of Hell. This sign is very dark and as Dante says the words are “cruel.” As Dante and Virgil walk past through the gates they enter the place of the rejected souls. Souls of...
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...It is a plain and simple fact, evil exists and it can be seen every where in today’s society. No matter how old or young, no matter where we look, whether it is in our textbooks or comic books, on TV or in our video games, evil is always there. There is evil of different types, with different causes and effects, with one event being more evil and has the power to stir up different emotions than the last. By examining opinions offered by people like John Hick, we can understand why God allows evil and the reasons extreme cases of destruction, as in “The Star” by Arthur C. Clarke to exist in our world or anywhere. There is no denying that evil has a tight grasp around the world we live in. It is this simple fact which defines the problem of evil. However, to understand this problem one must first understand evil itself. Webster’s English Dictionary defines evil as morally objectionable behaviour which causes harm, destruction, or misfortune. That being said, there are two different types of evil, moral and natural evil, each of which having their own unique characteristics. Moral evil, or wickedness, is the pain and suffering which is a direct result brought about from human action. Since humans are free to choose and act as they wish, they are free to choose to do good or they can choose to do evil. Most crimes and sinful act which cause pain and suffering, such as rape, murdered, and war are all considered morally evil acts. The second category of evil is natural evil....
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...found in my mind. An intangible but highly influential, very private set of thoughts construct the perception of how I allow the physical world to experience my being. My body is a physical representation of the collective effort of thoughts and experiences of my mind. In essence our body serves as a vessel or shell for our very soul. The question, “what am I?” could also be “who are you?” What constitutes an individual’s identity? I believe between the two options of physical and mental realities that my prolonged mental consciousness gives me my identity. My memories are who I am. Without my memories I am just a body a tabula rasa all over again. This idea of memory serving as our identity can be seen with the example of Alzheimer’s patients. Alzheimer’s is an autoimmune disease that even with today’s modern medicine is still misunderstood. The patient suffering AD experiences a slow wipe out of their memory. Even though, still unclear to how or why this happens to millions of people worldwide we are able to see first hand years of life disappear into nowhere and how destructive this is to families, loved ones, and an individuals identity. They exist physically as a shell and nothing more. Their connection and relationship to the physical world is of no use without the mind. For the record I am by no means stating that an AD patient’s life is of lesser significance. Now, what if we were able to transfer someone’s brain and memories into someone else’s body, what would happen...
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...SOUL The question of the truth and knowledge of soul and its peculiarity in form is a highly debated issue in philosophy. Does the soul exist? How can one find their souls? Since the soul is not physical, can we connect with it? Numerous theories of nature and existence of the soul have come up as an attack on the belief in its existence after death. In his Republic, Plato argues that the soul consists of three basic energies which animate human beings: Reason, Emotion, and Appetite. Reason is given the greatest value, while Emotion and especially Appetite are regarded as the lower passions. The soul that is ordered is governed by Reason, and therefore keeps one’s emotions and one’s appetites under control. The lower passions must submit to the dictates of Reason. According to Plato, the soul is placed inside the body at birth, after it has travelled from the realm of the forms. When it arrives in the body, it forgets the forms which enable a person to be moral and live a meaningful life. Plato’s idea sounds convincing. However, a soul can be many different things depending on where you live, religion or beliefs you adhere to. For me it’s an interchangeable work of some sort of spirit. In fact, not because it sounds so attractive doesn’t mean it exists. That might be the very reason why it was invented in the first place. I for one would love to have a soul. I would love to be assured that some part of me lives eternally after I die or get reincarnated into something else...
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...“Hinduism” is not to be found in the scriptures, making it difficult to present a moment in time when the movement launched. Hinduism is a system that “attempts to maintain a complex polytheism on the one hand, and an earth-based worship of nature on the other” (Hindson and Caner, 263). Somewhere in the middle, these two religious impulses collide, and Hinduism is born. The question of Identity seeks to identify "What does it mean to be a human?" Hinduism states that humans are the highest of all creation. Souls can take many births in lower forms to get the eligibility to be born as human. Life can form lower than human beings, such as insects, plants and animals to name a few. The question of meaning/purpose asks, "Why does mankind exist?”, “Why do I exist?" In Hinduism they believe in eternal spiritual truth, called Brahman, from whom all existence comes. The purpose of life is to understand this truth and to understand one’s eternal identity as the soul. The soul passes through many kinds of life, but only human life offers the chance of learning this truth. The Question of Morality asks "What is meant by right and wrong?" and "How should I live?" Karma is...
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...------------------------------------------------- A2 Religious Studies ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- A2 PHILOSOPHY REVISION NOTES ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The Body and Soul Introduction * Materialism is the view that the mind cannot be separated from the body * Idealism is the view that the mind is the only reality and the body is unreal. * Dualism is the view that the mind and body both exist and are linked in some way. Plato Review Plato’s distinction between body and soul in the foundation unit so that you can make comparisons with the thinking of Hick and of Dawkins. John Hick Philosophy of Religion (1973); Death and Eternal Life (1976) * The soul is a name for the moral, spiritual self formed by the interaction of genes and environment. The human is a psychophysical person with a divine purpose. * The person shall be resurrected through a divine act of recreation or reconstitution in resurrection, rather than reincarnation as Plato would have it, through God’s creative love. * The new body is not the old one brought back to life but a spiritual body inhabiting a spiritual world just as the physical body inhabited...
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...also has dignity and thus is referred to as a someone, and not a something. God has several creatures, but he puts man at the top of the hierarchy. Man is also the only creature that possesses the privilege to provide a response of faith and love to his Creator, as opposed to animals and plants which cannot do such a thing. In what way is the existence of man constitutively related to God in the most profound manner? The human persons exists, not only to feed and breed and learn. But the human person exists because God himself, the Creator, made the human person such that he will look for Him during his entire life. More properly said, the whole of man's life is a quest and search for God. The human person was created by God to be in a relationship with Him, whether now or later in our life. That is a natural tendency of man; to look for God. That is the reason why ancient people worshipped nature and why modern people practice institutionalized religion: because there is always a need to look for God in a man's life. Some people may ignore or refuse to have a relationship with God; to look for him. But such a longing for this relationship can never be eliminated. Why is man a social being and not a solitary being? -The answer stems from the cliché statement that no man is an island. The text given to us provides that man cannot live and develop his potential without the intervention of other human beings as...
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...Theology Revision Plato Plato lived in Athens in the 5th and 4th Centuries BC He was the student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle He was a dualist- believed in the body and the soul He believed the soul was more perfect than the body He believed that societies should be run by philosophers He believed the physical world is a pale imitation of the world of the forms The allegory of the cave The prisoners- normal people of society The prisoner who escapes- philosophers, people that thirst to know the real truth The people casting the shadows- the leaders of society- shaping the world without knowing the truth The shadows/statues- what people believe is reality, what they are told to believe, things people deem to be important The cave- a world without knowledge, the physical world/the body The fire- controlled, dim light- limited knowledge. An imitation of the form of the good The journey outside- a difficult journey, acquisition of knowledge The sun- illuminates the true world- form of the good The journey back into the cave- the desire to educate and inform others of the truth The world of the Forms Forms Plato uses the word ‘form’ to describe the true essence of material objects in the world This idea of the ‘form’ exists in a non physical (yet more real) realm that can only be understood by the mind. This is called the world of the forms Plato believed that the forms were interrelated and hierarchical The highest form The ultimate principle...
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...VII the Confessions, Augustine reflects on the existence of evil and the problem it faces. For evil to exist, the Creator, God, must have granted it, its existence. This contradicts the Christian view that God is purely good. For a long time, Augustine thought evil must not exists or that God is not entirely good. Original sin. Always asked questions God had to create evil Evil, Augustine entire religious life was based on evil, and how God could create it if he is good. Evil is a major theme in the Confessions, and the City of God. When Augustine was young, he could not wrap his mind around believing in an all good God that also created evil. However, God gave people free will. We can make our own choices. Our choices may be perceived as evil but it is just the lack of goodness in our decisions. The problem with evil and God is the challenge of how an all-powerful and all-loving God can allow his creation to suffer, without helping then and putting an end to their suffering. This challenge is an often quoted reason for being unable to believe in God for it is argued, either God does not exist or, if he does then he is not a God worthy of out worship. Souls are the reason we do bad things not the body. The Soul is emotional God gave us the option to do bad things One question preoccupied Augustine from the time he was a student in Carthage: why does evil exist in the world? He returned to this question again and...
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...The Monist address “what is” from four angles? The first affirmation posed “What is, is and cannot never be” concludes that something that exists cannot cease to exist, for when it departs it is re-located to an alternative place. This substance would then exist somewhere. For example, if a living being dies and decomposes, the components of said being will return to the earth in a combination of different elements. This coincides with the law of thermodynamics and the idea that energy can never be destroyed, and that while it appears to be lost or consumed it is merely converted or displaced. Here it appears as though the being in question ceases to exist, however, they are merely transformed and transferred somewhere else into a new combination of matter. One might argue that said being only exists corporally and while its elemental parts are recycled into the environment, the being as a distinct concept ceases to exist. Or beyond this obstacle if the ‘is’ is referring to the existence and continuation of some latent form of consciousness or the soul, we have no way of verifying its existence...
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...Aristotle’s concept of soul/mind*[1]. Then I compare and contrast it with Descartes’ concept of mind. In order to understand Aristotle’s concepts of mind, I shall consider Aristotle’s De Anima, in which Aristotle mostly concentrates on soul/mind discussion. I will examine the work of Kahn and Sorabji, who both considered Aristotle’s and Descartes’ philosophy in relation to soul and body problem. In order to compare Aristotle’s concept of mind with Descartes’, I am going to introduce Descartes’ most famous philosophical work which involves the question of mind directly, namely hisMeditations. …………………………. …………………………… ………………………………. If we look at Aristotle’s De Anima we can understand that pre-Aristotle thinkers were already concerned with corporeal and incorporeal problems. For example, for Plato soul was an ‘incorporeal’ and immortal thing, but body corporeal and mortal. The first impression we get from reading De Anima is that the mind and body problem was unsolved. Perhaps the resolved problem didn’t satisfy Aristotle. Aristotle claims that an incorporeal thing cannot exist without a corporeal thing. Aristotle’s new theory for solving soul and body problems makes controversial debate among most post-Aristotelian philosophers. Rene Descartes was one of them who rejected the Aristotelian concept of mind in which corporeal and incorporeal things exist together. For Descartes, corporeal and incorporeal things exist separately. In order...
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