12
votes
Accepted
Is there a modern, secular argument for the soul?
I would think the modern version of the argument is the Aristotelian version of the argument.
Looking at your question, your first point seems to narrow the definition of soul in a way that is not ...
- 24.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Buddhism in Phaedo
SOCRATES VERSUS BUDDHA ON THE SOUL
If Buddhism denies the existence of any continuing self or soul, this appears to conflict with Socrates' view of a continuing soul which is freed and released from ...
- 35k
5
votes
Scientific consensus about the soul
There seem to be several questions packed into this post. From the philosophy of mind point of view, please refer to the extensive literature on Dualism vs Materialism. Musolino isn't the first to ...
- 26.4k
4
votes
Accepted
How can the soul be a form in Aristotle's metaphysics but continue to exist after the body's destruction?
What seems to be omitted is that Aristotle was a realist about forms. He does call them secondary substances whose existence depends on the existence of primary substances (particulars, e.g. material ...
- 40.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Platos's/ Socrates' conception of reincarnational purpose and the soul's nature
On the one hand I am told that 'the Greeks' (and thus, I assume, Socrates and his followers too) took ψυχή which is generally translated as soul, to be the "breath of life" that bestows the ...
- 532
3
votes
What are the objections to the Affinity Argument in the Phaedo?
The affinity argument of Socrates is to support the immortality thesis of the soul. The argument is achieved by an analogical reasoning. The world of the Form and the soul share similar ...
- 3,610
2
votes
Accepted
What if I don't want to become one with my supposed creator?
Short Answer: These philosophies claim we all want this, we just don't know it.
Long Answer:
Religions and philosophies that espouse this say that this is the greatest bliss of all and those who say ...
- 1,810
2
votes
Who is the charmer in Socrates' dialogue in Phaedo?
The passage in question is Plato: Phaedo 77,e8-9.
The Greek text speaks about ἐπᾴδειν, which means to exorcize by singing. The Greek sentence has no explicit subject, it says one has to exorcize. ...
- 19.9k
2
votes
Does the Christian concept of eternal God and souls violate the Buddhist concept of Annica and Anatta?
I'm far from an expert in Buddhism, but here's my stab. It seems that like much between Buddhism and Christianity, there is certainly overlap between with respect to Annica and Anatta and the ...
- 5,918
2
votes
Is there a modern, secular argument for the soul?
Secularism, at least in my reading is a neutral point between competing interpretations of Christianity. Its historically located in Europe and arose after the wars of Religion in the 16th Century. In ...
- 44.9k
2
votes
Would rebuilding a human body rebuild the person it was?
Derek Parfit (of Reasons and Persons fame) lists the definition of the self that is implicit in your scenario as only one of many alternative views that are held also by experts in the field:
The ...
- 1,654
2
votes
How would Plato view a just soul?
▻ TRIPARTITE SOUL
1 The just soul is tripartite : this you already know. The three parts (mere) are reason (to logistikon) by which we learn, know, calculate, the spirited part (to thumos) which is ...
- 35k
2
votes
On what basis do we assume that people are similar?
Guill's answer is pretty silly.
Just because humans are similar in terms of body does not make them similar in terms of the philosophical attributes we concern ourselves with her.
By the very nature ...
- 21
2
votes
Do other animals have conscience?
Yes, they do.
There are plenty of examples where cats or dogs suffered after a human's death even if another human provided them with the same food and environment.
Cats wouldn't feel bad about ...
- 658
2
votes
Accepted
Is Aristotle's "Animal Soul" the immune system?
It is difficult to exactly map ancient concepts to modern ones. On the one hand, this means that what Aristotle means when he says "soul" (or rather, what is generally translated as "soul") is not ...
2
votes
Can anyone recommend a good book on The Self?
Recent books from a Western philosophy perspective on the topic include JJ Valberg's Dream, Death, and the Self and Caspar Hare's On Myself, and Other, Less Important Subjects.
- 2,347
2
votes
Can anyone recommend a good book on The Self?
"He demonstrates how the properties of self-referential systems, demonstrated most famously in Gödel's incompleteness theorems, can be used to describe the unique properties of minds." — (https://en....
2
votes
Accepted
Are neural correlates of consciousness and immortal souls compatible?
The simplest answer to this question is to remember that correlation does not equal causation. Neural correlates are exactly that: biological phenomena that correlate with subjective experiences of ...
- 13k
2
votes
What is a dualists response to Sean Carroll’s QFT objection to souls?
Current physics is obviously incomplete or incorrect. It does not predict the existence of consciousness. But we know consciousness exists. Plus we have the known problems of unifying QM and general ...
- 1,878
2
votes
How can a soul have parts if it's the unifying principle of the person? (Aquinas)
By "parts", Aquinas clearly does not mean mereological parts; it is another term for "powers of the soul". The soul is no composite for him.
Therefore the question now becomes if he should have taken ...
- 3,921
1
vote
Is it rationally possible to believe in a sensationless soul after death?
If you believe that the soul is a physical entity (perhaps made of some substance unknown to science), then you'll struggle with this problem.
But what if the soul is in fact made of literally ...
- 328
1
vote
Consciousness and Spacetime
Stuart Hammeroff thinks consciousness, or mental structure, is not just a network of neurons but microtubules on the surfaces of neurons which in turn are connected by entangled quantum states - and ...
- 3,506
1
vote
Accepted
Do other animals have conscience?
Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce start the first chapter of their book, Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals with these words:
Let's get right to the point. In Wild Justice, we argue that animals
...
- 19.1k
1
vote
Buddhism in Phaedo
Plato's views diverge strongly from Buddhist ones. For Buddhists there is reBirth, of causes and conditions created by craving and ignorance of the true nature of reality. This is contrasted to ...
- 9,786
1
vote
On what basis do we assume that people are similar?
The basis rests on at least two factors: 1) accumulated knowledge and 2) observation.
Through accumulated knowledge, it has been determined that our chromosomes (humans) are 99.9% the same.
Though ...
- 1,740
1
vote
On what basis do we assume that people are similar?
I'd say:
The inductive argument Mauro suggests and attributes to Wittgenstein. (It can probably be dated further back). The behavior of these other humans is similar to what we can imagine.
a belief ...
- 24.3k
1
vote
How would Plato view a just soul?
For Plato, all the higher virtues stem from letting the better part of your nature rule the worse part. So the just person --as is true for the wise person or the good person-- must have reason ...
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