‘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
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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
René Descartes believed that the mind and body are separate; that the senses could not always be trusted, but that because we as humans are able to think about our existence, we possess some sort of entity separate than our fleshly body. I believe this separate entity to be a soul”an immaterial and
There is survival after death where the death becomes parts of the soul and the body.
The concept of life after death has been around practically as long as life itself. Our beliefs about life after death can have a profound effect on our attitudes toward life. Most individual's beliefs about life after death are directly related to their cultural or religious affiliations. According to Montagu, "Of all the many forms which natural religion has assumed none probably has exerted so deep and far reaching an influence on human life as the belief in immortality" (1955, p.15).
Hinduism fully shares the idea of the life cycle and re-incarnation, as all were essentially derived from the Brahman tradition. People should spend their life in search of unity with Brahman, following the teaching of Vedas and
3. “Whatever the soul occupies, it always brings life to it? - It does.” (105c-d)
Hinduism is faced with a revolving wheel of life, death and rebirth called Samsara better known as reincarnation. They believe this life cycle is a direct relation to a person’s karma of deeds done. Karma “determines the kind of body, whether human, animal, or insect, into which he or she will be reincarnated in the next
Reincarnation also known as samsara, Is a major tenet of Hinduism. Reincarnation or samsara, Is the process in which one soul returns to Earth in a new body to learn and experience new things while working through your karma, this process repeats itself until your soul is pure and you can finally join the most high.
In Hinduism karma and reincarnation are two meaningful major elements. Karma is a concept that the universe will return your good or bad actions back to you. You will find with certain actions you make, you feel good and others around you feel good. When remembering karma think about mental and physical actions that you would make. In the Hindu religion the soul reincarnates itself over and over until it becomes perfect.
Within Buddhism the key terms are reincarnation which is the process of being reincarnated or born again. Nirvana; transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. Samsara; the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from ordinary beings ' grasping and fixating on oneself and experiences.
Hinduism believes in the reincarnation or rebirth of souls. They believe that souls are eternal and divine and that death is only temporary.
While Phaedrus, the Bhagavad Gita, Epicurus’ Letters to Menoeceus, and the story of “The Priest Walchelin and the Hellequin’s Hunt” all offer slightly different theories on what happens after death, they all agree that the death of the body is inevitable. However, the texts fail to give explicit instruction on how mortals should best live their life so as to be best situated for existence after death. Identifying how the texts instruct people to live life in a way that’s meaningful despite its temporary nature will help identify methods for benefitting humanity and thus retroactively reveal our shortcomings. According to these texts, the only way to live a meaningful life is to focus on the betterment of the soul. Because the soul will
| There is no eternal Life when we die that is it we get put in the ground, nothing else happens except we decompose.
The idea of the soul varies widely in religious tradition. While these variations exist, its basic definition is unvarying. The soul can be described as the ultimate internal principle by which we think, feel, and will, and by which our bodies are animated. The soul is seen as the core principle of life or as the essence of a being 1. Views on the permanence of the soul vary throughout religious tradition as well. While some view it as a mortal entity in flux others believe the soul is an immortal and permanent unit. These interpretations vary from time period to time period and between religions. These characteristics of the soul are interpreted differently through an Eastern or
Hinduism believes that this cycle continues after death as well, and into the next life. In Hinduism reincarnation is known as Samsara. Samsara is predominantly for men due to women being absolutely dependent on their husbands within this culture. The first stage in Hindu life is titled “the student.”
Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated almost intact from birth to birth, and through spiritual practice Hindus seek release (moksha, also known as liberation) so that the soul can join with the Divine God, known as Brahmin.