Philosophy
When TheWife's grandfather passed away a number of years ago, her sister broke the news to her daughter who was about five at the time. Looking thoughtful, she asked her mom where Greatgrandpa is now, to which my sister-in-law responded that his body is still at Greatgrandpa and Greatgrandma's house. Looking a bit confused, she asked, "But where is his head?"
The word body is oddly ambiguous. We do distinguish between head and body, on one hand, and body and mind/soul/spirit, on the other. Surely, these stem from the same notion, the sort of dualism that comes to us from the Greeks and has become part of the Western religious worldview. It is also something that was challenged in the 20th century by Continental thinkers.
So, let's ask their question: Do you have a body or are you your body?
- Descartes, Dualism And Monism
Let?s assume that both you and me do have minds; I guess it would be way easier to think this post over if you had some free mind to use. Otherwise the idea of thought without a mind might get a little bit tricky ? but as you?re about to see, thought...
- Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! Since I've been interested in the philosphy of mind for some time already, I decided a few days ago that I should finally find a way to share my views on the subject - so here I am! I will try to write as much as I know and do...
- Lecture 4 - Cartesian Dualism & The Mind-body Problem
There are all sorts of psychological reasons why people tend to believe that we have an immaterial soul that can somehow overcome the physical limitations of the body (think out-of-body experiences, misinterpretation of brain quirks and our tendency for...
- Substance Dualism
If you believe that, in the ultimate analysis, you are a combination of a physical body and a non-physical soul, then you would be a substance dualist. This tradition has been around for thousands of years, and has been espoused by thinkers as prominent...
- What Did You Do When You Were 6 Years Old?
In 1963, six-year-old Robert Patch received a U.S. patent for a "Toy Truck" (No. 3,091,888). The toy separated into a chassis, driver's cab, truck body, wheels and four axles so it could be reassembled in either a closed van body or dump truck form....
Philosophy
Ghost in the Machine?
When TheWife's grandfather passed away a number of years ago, her sister broke the news to her daughter who was about five at the time. Looking thoughtful, she asked her mom where Greatgrandpa is now, to which my sister-in-law responded that his body is still at Greatgrandpa and Greatgrandma's house. Looking a bit confused, she asked, "But where is his head?"
The word body is oddly ambiguous. We do distinguish between head and body, on one hand, and body and mind/soul/spirit, on the other. Surely, these stem from the same notion, the sort of dualism that comes to us from the Greeks and has become part of the Western religious worldview. It is also something that was challenged in the 20th century by Continental thinkers.
So, let's ask their question: Do you have a body or are you your body?
- Descartes, Dualism And Monism
Let?s assume that both you and me do have minds; I guess it would be way easier to think this post over if you had some free mind to use. Otherwise the idea of thought without a mind might get a little bit tricky ? but as you?re about to see, thought...
- Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! Since I've been interested in the philosphy of mind for some time already, I decided a few days ago that I should finally find a way to share my views on the subject - so here I am! I will try to write as much as I know and do...
- Lecture 4 - Cartesian Dualism & The Mind-body Problem
There are all sorts of psychological reasons why people tend to believe that we have an immaterial soul that can somehow overcome the physical limitations of the body (think out-of-body experiences, misinterpretation of brain quirks and our tendency for...
- Substance Dualism
If you believe that, in the ultimate analysis, you are a combination of a physical body and a non-physical soul, then you would be a substance dualist. This tradition has been around for thousands of years, and has been espoused by thinkers as prominent...
- What Did You Do When You Were 6 Years Old?
In 1963, six-year-old Robert Patch received a U.S. patent for a "Toy Truck" (No. 3,091,888). The toy separated into a chassis, driver's cab, truck body, wheels and four axles so it could be reassembled in either a closed van body or dump truck form....