Forms and Substance Dualism - Essay Example

[The [The [The Plato's Theory Of The Forms and Descartes Substance Dualism This paper will compare the theories of both the great philosophers regarding forms and substance dualism. Introduction Dualism is the belief that reality consists of two different, separate substances: that of the mental and that of the physical. "In philosophy of mind, the belief that the mental and physical are deeply different in kind: thus the mental is at least not identical with the physical." It directly opposes materialism, as dualism dictates that the mind is unidentifiable to the body, as opposed to stating that the mind and body exist as one. The concept of dualism is not only fundamental in philosophy, but also affects our thoughts on science, religion and psychology: for example, if a convincing rejection of dualism can be formulated, the materialist approach of modern science will be vindicated. If, conversely, dualism can be convincingly maintained, then our evidence obtained from studies of the brain would simply not suffice in gaining any form of insight into the human mind. Dualism is a logical necessity: sustained as a question that does not need to be answered as it can be fulfilled a priori, owing to the fact that humans have the ability to seek introspection regularly. (Almog, 129-34) Indeed, we experience the separation between our body and mind, which would support the notion that they are separate entities and empirical evidence is not required to prove such a concept. However, this does not mean that dualistic theory is foolproof: for example, can our experience be enough to prove such a concept Indeed, many philosophers are not in favor of dualistic ontology. The Comparative Discussion The first classical representation of dualism can be recognized in Plato's work; more specifically originating in The Phaedo. Interestingly, in dualism, 'mind' is contrasted with 'body', but in different historical periods, different aspects of the mind have been the center of attention. For example, in the classical period it was the intellect of the mind, which was considered to be the crux of what separated us from the physical. However, from Descartes onwards, the opposition to materialism came from our apparent 'consciousness' and experience of 'sensation'. The emphasis on intellect is certainly echoed in Plato's work: as he believed (as did many other Greeks) that the body was a prison for the intellectual soul. Indeed Plato believed that the true substances are not physical bodies, which are ephemeral, but the eternal Forms of which bodies are imperfect copies. He came up with the idea of a realm of "Forms" and said that intellect was immaterial, for it does not last you, therefore Forms are immaterial, and thus intellect must link to those that it apprehends. He then continued to say that such a link forced the soul to want to leave the body to enter a realm of Forms. In his later writings, The Republic, Plato furthered his ideas on Forms and the soul; he claimed that not only was the soul the true form but belonged to a higher status within reality than the body did, and that the soul was a separate, immortal substance. Plato's study of dualism in The Phaedo was indeed complex, and more a metaphysical study regarding the imprisoned soul. However, it can be seen, especially amongst his writings in The Republic, that Plato was clear on his belief that the body and soul were separate entities, forming the base for philosophical extensions in more recent times. Continuing from Plato, St Thomas Aquinas extended earlier works on dualism in his endeavor to unite philosophy with proof of God. Aquinas agreed with the Aristotelian notion that when the soul entered the body it animated it and gave it life; calling it anima. Moreover according to Aquinas, the soul operates independently of the body and it cannot decay; for only things that can break into parts can decay, Thus, following Aquinas' argument, the soul is able to survive death. He also said that through the link with a particular human body, each soul becomes individual. So, even when a body dies, the soul that departs retains the individual identity of the body to which it was attached. Despite this earlier work, there was still no explanation of how the soul and body worked together, if at all. This was until Descartes (1596- 1650) who provided the fundamental writings on dualism with his work Meditations on First Philosophy. Indeed, he is considered "the father of modern philosophy" and his Meditations lead to the school of dualistic ontology known as Cartesian Interactionist Dualism, which still inspires much thought and extension by modern philosophers today. Descartes defined the 'mind' as "all the feelings and sensations that he could describe, but which he could not locate physically". On the other hand, let us now evaluate and compare dualism theory with Plato's theory of forms. Plato's work is very famous, and his theories are sometimes used in novels, soap operas, and movies. Plato, the older of these two philosophers, was born in Athens, Greece, in 427 B.C.E, and died in 327 B.C.E. He was one of Socrates' students, and after Socrates' death, he traveled to Egypt and Italy to work with the students of Pythagoras. Soon after, he came up with his theory of Ideal Forms. This theory was basically that everything was a copy of a perfect model. Say, for example, there was a bowl on a table. Well the bowl would be an imperfect copy of the perfect original, which existed somewhere. And the table was an imperfect copy of the perfect original table. Plato also claimed that only people with intelligence, people whom he called "Guardians" could ever see the perfect model, or Ideal Form of each thing. His second theory was his "Theory of Two Worlds, the Worlds of Shadows and Ideas." This suggested that people only believed what they saw. His example was the following simile of the cave. He explained it in a hypothetical sort of way. It started by imagining people who grew up in a cave. Seeing nothing but shadows of everything projected onto the cave wall in front of them, and not being able to see themselves, or others around them, this 'cave community' would believe that everything on this wall was real. But if one man escapes from the cave, and runs out into the sun to find out what was real, to see what people really looked like, to see what colors there had in the world. And then Plato told whoever who was listening to imagine that this man that escaped went back, and told everyone else what he saw, they would not believe him, for they did not want to admit that what they had believed for so long was not true. A good example of this theory is the 1999 film "The Matrix" where the hero, Neo, is taken out of his 'cave', which in his case is a cyber world, to the real world, which is really hundreds of years later. When he tries to cope with what he just learnt, about living in a 'dream world', his mind almost rejects the information, and he ends up throwing up and collapsing. Whereas, Descartes had to provide a complex explanation as to how the mind and body, from such separate realms, could "causally interact". He suggested that the mind deflects the flow of physical currents within the body and thus has an influence on the mechanical workings of it. Therefore, Descartes is implying that the mind and body are separate entities but part of one; thus enabling them to interact. Furthermore, as the mental realm is not empirical it is thus not part of this world, and this supports the idea that it is possible for the mind to exist without the body. (Kim, 71-80) Descartes extends upon this by reasoning that if the mind is the essence of one's identity and that we do not need our bodies to live an intellectually aware and active life; then it is therefore plausible to believe that the mind can survive the death of the body: essentially that the soul is immortal. Descartes related this school of philosophical thought to his personal belief in God; he considered that when an individual dies, their soul is able to continue with God after death, as the same individual who had existed in their physical form on Earth. (Rozemond, 210-23) On the other hand, Plato basically believed that everything is how we see it, and not necessarily real. Aristotle however thought that everything was already known, and we had to rediscover it. Plato's triangular theory of knowledge expounded in "The Republic" has acted as one of the most important contributions in philosophical history - particularly to the field of epistemology. Plato uses three powerful metaphors to explain what knowledge and goodness are: The simile of the sun, the image of the divided line, and the most famous of all, the allegory of the cave. The study of epistemology is primarily concerned with what knowledge is, how it is obtained (if at all), and the validity of it. Plato's contention in The Republic is to show that the world of the forms exists, and it is the true philosophers who have knowledge and should rule the community. (Whittaker, 131-34) The Theory of the forms, briefly, states that the material world around us and all its objects are merely reflections of the real world, the world of Forms. The world of Forms is aspatial and atemporal, it exists in a metaphysical realm of ideas. To exemplify, looking at the screwdriver sitting upon my desk, I am seeing a shadow, a particular instance of the form of screwdriver, in an imperfect state. The form of screwdriver exists metaphysically, it is divine and perfect, eternal and absolute. This method of reasoning about the world around us applies to all objects in the physical world as we 'know' it - they are merely reflections, not the real thing. All three of Plato's metaphors link together knowledge; if you have it, there is nothing beyond your reach. (Mills, 145-70) Whilst his theory is a romantic reflection about the rule of philosopher, the validity of his arguments is questionable. The existence of the forms is a particular problem. To Plato, the primary problem present is a matter of both language and science. How can the forms, which are aspatial and atemporal, actually exist scientifically It can be conceptualized that forms exist, but is this rumination upon the forms enough evidence to suggest that they exist independently of the tangible universe, and independently of the actual idea It would seem not based upon current scientific method of hypotheses, testing, and falsification at all. Therefore, the main ideas of Cartesian dualism can be summarized as follows: that the mind is a 'non-corporeal' substance, which is distinct from material or bodily substance; indeed that they are different things. Secondly, that every substance has a property or a special character: for example, the mind substance's property is consciousness, and the property of bodily substance is length, breadth or depth. The mind is a substance 'whose whole essence is to think' and so takes up no space. The body is material, whose essence is to take up place. Thirdly, that the body is an extension of the true self, the mind, and it is the material aspect of the self, which has extensional features. Thus, finally that these two substances interact with each other, as the mind can cause events to occur in the body and the body can cause events to occur in the mind. Its domination and worldwide acceptance give an insight into the importance of life after death as a human need. Indeed, it is an attractive concept for us to believe that our souls are so intelligible and different from our functioning bodies that they can defeat death. Many seek solace in their belief in dualism, especially during times of mourning, and this willingness to believe in the immortality of the soul further strengthens the argument that personal identity is confined to the non-physical, as opposed to the body. Additionally, dualism is popular, because it answers why it is possible to be using your mind, without any bodily functions. Indeed, dualism is popular because it provides logical answers to these questions; and such popularity empowers dualism as a philosophical concept. Conclusion Plato concluded that justice had a form, and it was absolute, and those with knowledge could access it and incorporate it into community life. And this was the purpose of the Philosopher Kings, to rule the community as they had knowledge of the absolute forms of justice. To quote Karl Popper's succinct objection "Plato's envisioned state had totalitarian features as it advocated a government not elected by its citizens, with the identification of the ruling classes interests as being the fate and direction of the state" The ambiguity of the supposed "knowledge" from the forms and its elitist consequences suggest an undermining of the originally intended quasi-utilitarian philosopher kings rule; the tyrannous implications of the system represent an unjust system of rule. Plato's theory of forms and the method in which knowledge is accessed is dogmatic and fallible. It seems impossible for something with no substance to exist outside the realm of ideas (independent of the mind), as Plato posited. The good and knowledge may well exist; but Plato's theory does not seem to be the right method to come to it. Dualism is an enormously attractive and powerful theory. Indeed, it appeals to our human nature in that it explains what we fail to understand nor explain otherwise; acting as a combination of Marx and Russell's critiques of religion: an opiate of hope. However, simply because such an explanation exists, does not mean that it necessarily stands as a logically and philosophically sound theory; and this is demonstrated in how many philosophers actually reject Descartes' ontology. The main weakness of Descartes' argument is in the ambiguous idea of "causal interaction" when he has stated that the two substances of mind and body exist in such contrasting realms; yet interact with cause; it seems almost illogical and has since been scientifically proven wrong. However despite the flaws in the fine details and logistics of Cartesian Dualism, it could also be possible to say that there is simply no point in pursuing the concept; for human language is too confined to hold the answer anyway. The existence of God becomes so obvious that nothing can falsify it, thus saying that such talk of supernaturalism does, in fact, have significant meaning. Works Cited Almog, J. 2001. What Am I: Descartes and the Mind-Body Problem. Oxford University Press. New York. 129-34. Kim, J. 2003. Lonely souls: Causality and substance dualism. In (T. O'Connor & D. Robb, (eds) Philosophy of Mind: Contemporary Readings. Chicago. 71-80 Mills, K.W. "Some Aspects of Plato's Theory of Forms: Timaeus 49cff," Phronesis 13 (1968), pp. 145-70. Rene Descartes. Meditations on First Philosophy: Translated by John Veitch (1901) Rozemond, M. 2002. Descartes's Dualism. Harvard University Press. 210-23 The Republic of Plato by Plato, Allan David Bloom Basic Books; 2nd edition (September 1991) Whittaker, John "The 'Eternity' of the Platonic Forms," Phronesis 13 (1968), pp. 131-44. Read More