The Mind Is An Immaterial Soul Essay - 1139 Words

In this paper I will refute the view that the mind is an immaterial soul by highlighting how substance dualism lacks explanatory power. To successfully dismantle the contentions offered by substance dualism, I will present two arguments illustrating how ineffectual this theory is at explaining everyday phenomena. My intention in doing so is to stress how theories that lack explanatory power in comparison to other, more robust, theories can be generally regarded as weaker. Once my arguments have been presented, I will first describe how a substance-dualists might respond to my arguments, and then proceed to show why these responses are insufficient. In responding to these objections in particular, and to the case in general, I will maintain that the mind is not an immaterial soul. Before delving into the problems with substance dualism, it might befit us to first fully understand substance-dualism. Fundamentally, substance-dualism is couched in the notion that there exist two separate substances: physical substances and non-physical substances. On the one hand, physical substances comprise everything we might call material, such as cars, rocks, and computers. On the other hand, substance-dualists claim that there exist non-physical substances that operate behind the veil of immaterialism. The world, in other words, can be partitioned between those things regarded as tangibly physical, and those things regarded intangibly non-physica. Within this criterion forShow MoreRelated Personhood Essay example758 Words   |  4 Pages Personhood What is a person? That sounds like a harmless question, but the answer can get very complicated. Is a person just a lump of skin, muscles, bones, and other materials? Is a person something immaterial like a mind or a soul? Or is a person a combination of these two things? Really there is no right answer, and it all depends on the point of view that you hold. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;First of all, what is a body? Some say that a body is, like I said before, a lump of skin, musclesRead MoreAnalysis Of Descartes s First Attempt 981 Words   |  4 Pageswe can apply weight in terms relating to the body and other times relating to the soul, and just as we have the innate notion that an immaterial force â€Å"pushes† weighted objects towards the earth, so too does the immaterial soul/mind act on the body . However, this explanation proves unsatisfactory both to the modern reader and to Elisabeth herself; as this analogy fails to bridge the gap as to how something immaterial can enter into a causal relationship with something that is distinctly material.Read MoreDualism And Belief That The Mind And Brain Essay1201 Words   |  5 Pagesstates that humans are composed of both an immaterial substance and a physical substance. Moreland notes that there are contrasting differences between the minds and the brains and that they are ultimate ly separate entities. By defending dualism, Moreland seeks to make nonbelievers believe in immaterial souls, while discrediting materialism. We can look at the arguments in which Moreland uses to support the argument of dualism and belief that the mind and brain are separate entities. Dualism isRead MoreObjections to Descartes’ Interactionism1431 Words   |  6 PagesPassions of the Soul, Part I and Correspondence with Princess Elisabeth, Concerning the Union of Mind and Body. I will start by describing the basic features of how Descartes’ notion of interactionism works. Namely, that the pineal gland is the â€Å"principle seat† of the mind because it is the only singular part of the brain. 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There are different theories to answer these questions. A philosopher, Descarte, believes in Cartesian Dualism, which is that the mind and body both exist, but are two distinct things: physical stuff and mental stuff. The mind is not located in physical space and is an immaterial soul, whereas the body is a physical being and theseRead MoreAquinas: the Soul1260 Words   |  6 PagesThe soul has been a very controversial a nd intriguing subject for multiple generations of philosophers, countless theories have been thought up in an attempt to explain its intellectual operation. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval philosopher and theologian, tackles the topic of subsistence (i.e existence) of the human soul by looking into its power of cognition and scrutinizing its nature; more specifically, he studies the processes through which the soul can cognize the world that surrounds us and itselfRead MoreExistence After Physical Death Considered1180 Words   |  5 Pagesdefinition of human includes the characteristic of a unique soul or spirit associated with each physical human body and, 2) Miracles, events unexplained by men’s physical and natural laws, can occur and, 3) A substance dualist philosophy that the body including the brain is physical matter but the mind – containing our knowledge, memories, and thoughts – is not physical matter and unique to each individual. Thus it is possible that the soul/spirit, absent the physical matter of the body, could retainRead MoreWhy The Mind Body Problem1200 Words   |  5 PagesOut there, in our own world, there is a battle going on that most of us are completely unaware of, and it is all comes down to the mind-body problem. The mind-body problem is how the mind and the body interact with each other. The mind is the mental side of things; thoughts, imagination, and most importantly consciousness, whereas the body is the physical side; the make up of your brain neurons and your body. On one side of this argument we have the Materialists, and according to the Oxford DictionaryRead MoreThe Theory Of Personal Identity988 Words   |  4 Pagesidentify ourselves through our individual soul, thus supporting the same soul theory. By having the same soul, we are the same person. I will support this argument by giving a brief overview of all the theories of personal identity then stating the objection of the same soul theory using the same body and same mind theorist. Last but not least, I will then respond accordingly to the objection by stating the connection and unchanging qualities from the same soul theory. There are approximately four