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Philosophical Perspecticve Final-2
Philosophical Perspecticve Final-2
Philosophical Perspecticve Final-2
Objectives:
He was convinced that in addition to our physical bodies, each person possesses
an immortal soul that survives beyond the death of the body. He explored this
subject with his friends in the days following his trial and before his sentence of
death was executed, a time in his life when the question of immortality no doubt
had a special immediacy and significance.
Our souls strive for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul’s tool to achieve
this exalted state. But as long as the soul is tied to the body, this quest for wisdom
is inhibited by the imperfection of the physical realm, as the soul is
“dragged by the body into the region of the changeable,” where it “wanders and is
confused” in a world that “spins round her, and she is like a drunkard.” But reason
is a powerful tool, enabling the soul to free itself from the corrupting imperfection
of the physical realm and achieve “communion with the unchanging.”
St. Augustine integrated the philosophical concepts of Plato with the tenets of
Christianity. Augustine was convinced that Platonism and Christianity were natural
partners. He enthusiastically adopted Plato’s vision of a bifurcated universe in
which “there are two realms, an intelligible realm where truth itself dwells, and this
sensible world which we perceive by sight and touch,” but then adapted this
metaphysic to Christian beliefs. Thus, Plato’s ultimate reality, the eternal realm of
the Forms, became in Augustine’s philosophy a transcendent God.
In the same way, Plato’s vision of immortal souls striving to achieve union with this
eternal realm through intellectual enlightenment became transformed by Augustine
into immortal souls striving to achieve union with God through faith and reason.
Like Plato and Plotinus, Augustine believed that the physical body was both
radically different from and inferior to its inhabitant, the immortal soul. Early in his
philosophical development he describes the body as a “snare” and a “cage” for the
soul. He considers the body a “slave” to the soul, and sees their relation as
contentious: “The soul makes war with the body.”
As his thinking matured, Augustine came to view the body as the “spouse” of the
soul, with both attached to one another by a “natural appetite”. The body is united
with the soul so that man may be entire and complete. Nevertheless, the body and
soul remain irreconcilably divided, the body to die, the soul to live eternally in a
transcendent realm of Truth and Beauty. In melding philosophy and religious
beliefs together, Augustine has been characterized as Christianity’s first theologian
(theos – God; logos – study of) – the study of God.
Descartes was an integral part of the scientific revolution, with this, he insisted that
it was no longer acceptable to take knowledge without question which was the
usual case during the Middle Ages. Descartes was convinced that we should use
our thinking abilities to investigate, experiment, analyze, and develop our well-
reasoned conclusion supported with proofs. For Descartes, in order to develop a
rock-solid foundation of your beliefs, one must be courageous enough to question
things instead of accepting them by “faith.” Moreover, one will develop their
intellectual abilities and personal courage to achieve one’s full potential.
Cogito ergo sum. Descartes’ first principle in his theory of knowledge which means
“I think, therefore I am.” He is confident that no rational person will doubt his or her
own existence as a conscious, thinking entity—while we are aware of thinking
about our self. Being self-conscious in this way is integral to having a personal
identity. Conversely, it would be impossible to be self-conscious if we didn’t have
a personal identity of which to be conscious. In other words, having a self-identity
and being self-conscious are mutually dependent on one another.
In addition, your self-identity is dependent on the fact that you are capable of
being aware you are engaging in these mental operations while you are
engaged in them. If you are consistently not conscious and unaware of your
thinking, reasoning, and perceiving process, then it is impossible for you to have
a self-identity, a unique essence, a you.
For Descartes, your physical body is secondary to your personal identity. One
reason for this is that he believes that self exist independently from your body.
Though your body is not as central to your self as is your capacity to reflect and
think, it clearly plays a role in your self-identity. However, these two dimensions
– self as a thinking entity and self as a physical body- of self are distinct from
each other. Further, Descartes argues that each can exist and function without
the other.
QUESTION: How is it possible that the two dimensions of the self can exist without
the other?
In cases such as physical death, Descartes believes that the soul continues to
exist, seeking union with God’s infinite and eternal mind in the spiritual realm.
On the other hand, in cases in which people sleep or in comatose, their bodies
continue to function even if their minds are not thinking.
Although Descartes made a good premise, his view regarding the two different
dimensions of self have raised questions from other great thinkers, such as
“What is the relationship between the mind and the body?” It is undeniable that
our mind and body are connected since our thinking and emotions have a
profound effect on many aspects of our physical bodies, and physical events of
our bodies have a significant impact on our mental lives. Descartes attempted
to answer this by saying that our mind and body have “intermingling” point of
contact through the pineal gland. However, most philosophers agree that
Descartes failed in his attempt to create an integrated concept of the body and
mind.
For Locke, the essence of the self is its conscious awareness of itself as a
thinking, reasoning, reflecting identity. In Locke’s mind, conscious awareness
and memory of previous experiences are the keys to understanding the self. In
other words, you have a coherent concept of your self as a personal identity
because you are aware of your self when you are thinking, feeling, and willing.
And you have memories of times when you were aware of your self in the past,
in other situations. But, there are many moments when we are not consciously
aware of our self when we are thinking, feeling, and willing—we are simply,
unreflectively, existing. What’s more, there are many past experiences that we
have forgotten or have faulty recollections of. All of which means that during
those lapses, when we were not aware of our self, or don’t remember being
aware of our self, we can’t be sure if we were the same person, the same
substance, the same soul!
For Locke, personal identity and the soul or substance in which the personal
identity is situated are two very different things.
V. Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self
Impressions
Experiences/
Perceived SELF
Ideas
These organizing rules are a priori in the sense that they precede the
sensations of experience and they exist independently of these sensations. We
didn’t have to “learn” these a priori ways of organizing and relating the world—
they came as software already installed in our intellectual operating systems.
Without our self to perform this synthesizing function, our experience would be
unknowable, a chaotic collection of sensations without coherence or
significance.