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Only a belief in embodied existence after death is philosophically justifiable. Discuss.

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‘Only a belief in embodied existence after death is philosophically justifiable.’ Discuss.

Disagree- There is disembodied existence: Plato, Descartes, Christianity
Key points: Embodied existence Life after death Philosophically justifiable
Criticisms of embodied existence after death:
2- Long tradition of belief in disembodied existence- Plato believed we have immortal souls that leave body at death.
4- Theory of the Atman- Hinduism
6- ‘My essence consists solely in the fact that I am a thinking thing…’- Descartes
Support for embodied existence:
1- Christian belief in resurrection- outline Jesus’ resurrection after death- Link to hicks idea of the replica.
3- The only meaningful way to talk about survival after death is to say that …show more content…

Geach described the idea of a separate soul and body as a ‘savage superstition’ and he believed that the genius of Plato and Descartes had given the superstition an undeservedly long lease of life. Geach, along with many other modern philosophers argue that the idea of a separate body and soul has come from misunderstanding of scriptural language. In his book, ‘What do we think with’, Geach wrote ‘thinking is a vital activity of a man, not any part of him, material or immaterial.’ This shows quite clearly Geach believed that a human is a single entity which needs to think, rather than a body and a separate mind which just happens to have consciousness. Geach believed that the only reasonable theory of the soul was the Aristotelian idea that the soul is the form of a living body. Many would say that Geach’s argument is fairly week as there is little evidence to back it up and he seems to be ‘piggy-backing’ off other philosophers, namely; Aristotle.
Reincarnation, or rebirth (afterlife in a physical form),are a key feature at the heart of Hindu beliefs. Hinduism teaches that every person has an essential ‘self’ known as an atman. They believe the Atman to be eternal and something which seeks to be united with God. Hindu’s believe that God manifests himself

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