do souls exist

Do Souls Exist?: 

Do Souls Exist? An Overview of the Mind/Body Problem ( March 2002 )

Outline: 

Outline Motivation History Competing Theories Defense of Dualism Concluding Remarks

Motivation: 

Motivation What is philosophy and why do I care? CS Lewis, Betrand Russell Truth, beliefs, and action Plausibility Structure “A person’s plausability structure is the set of ideas the person either is or is not willing to entertain as possibly true.” - J.P. Moreland Religion, Morality, Values

History: 

History The Brain Mystery of mind Rene Descartes

History: 

History Mind Non-physical Thoughts Experiences Kindness Body Physical 200 pounds 5 feet 12 inches Dark

Competing Theories: 

Competing Theories Dualism * Interactionism Epiphenomenalism Parallelism Monism Behaviorism * Functionalism * Computationalism Idealism Identity Theory

Defense of Dualism: 

Defense of Dualism Leibniz’ Law of Indiscernability “With a causation-based criterion of identity in place, some materialists claim that the sciences have virtually established the truth of materialism.” - Charles Taliaferro Identity (X = Y) Causal Relation Strict Correlation

Defense of Dualism: 

Defense of Dualism Consciousness “Consciousness consists of inner, qualitative, subjective states and processes of sentience or awareness.” - John Searle Chalmer’s easy vs. hard problem Qualia (smell, color) Subjectivity and Perspective

Defense of Dualism: 

Defense of Dualism Knowledge Argument (Jackson) Blind Eye Specialist ‘What-it’s-like’ Argument (Nagel) What is it like to be a Bat? “It is useless to base the defense of materialism on any analysis of mental phenomena that fails to deal explicitly with their subjective character.” - Thomas Nagel

Defense of Dualism: 

Defense of Dualism Intentionality (aboutness) Thoughts, Hopes, Plans, etc. Where is the color? Inadequacy of Computationalism Chinese Room Argument (Searle) “The reason that no computer program can ever be a mind is simply that a computer program is only syntactical, and minds are more than syntactical. Minds are semantical, they have content.” - John Searle Derived vs. Intrinsic Intentionality (Encyclopedia)

Defense of Dualism: 

Defense of Dualism Freedom of the Will Common-sense illusion? How do we even get this idea if there’s only determinism? Epiphenomenalism Distinction between passive and active Experiments (Penfield, Eccles) “If the electric current is applied to the Rolandic motor area or the supplementary motor area, the result may be a movement that the patient cannot resist by any exercise of his will. Or it often happens that there is simple inhibition of specific movements, and the arm or leg lies motionless, even though the patient tries voluntarily to move it… But if, at the moment of stimulation, the patient is trying to talk, he discovers, to his astonishment, that he is aphasic.” - Wilder Penfield

Conclusion: 

Conclusion Assumptions in Physicalism Limits of the enterprise “There is no God. Science has disproved God. To me that just really misunderstands the nature of science, because if what we're trying to do is explain the natural world using natural causes, and if, in explaining the natural world, we have to test our explanations against the natural world, that means that we are restricted to natural cause. We cannot introduce the idea of supernatural cause, which also means we can't say God didn't do it.” - Eugenie Scott Philosophical Scientism

Conclusion: 

Conclusion Consequences Morality “If O.J. Simpson had tried to get off by mounting appeals for seven years, then saying: ‘Gee, you’ve taken so long to convict me that I’m not the same person’, that would be bull… We’re not trying the atoms, We’re trying the person.” - John Perry Person-hood (Identity) Responsibility Abortion Functional Adequacy Equality

Conclusion: 

Conclusion Weigh the Evidence What’s wrong with common-sense? “Just because an experience has a neural correlate does not mean that the experience exists ‘only’ in the brain, or that it is a figment of brain activity with no independent reality.” (Newsweek May 2001)