Only a belief in embodied existence after death is philosophically justifiable. Discuss.
‘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 souls can be reunited- Peter Geach
5- Characteristics and memories can be changed and falsified- Bernard William
Descartes said ‘ My essence consists solely in the fact that I am a thinking thing’. This, if true, implies that our consciousness is separate from our bodies and so we must be able to exist without said bodies. This of course would then falsify the statement as disembodied life after death would be possible. Indeed, there are many who dispute this argument and one who would agree with the given statement is Bernard William who claims that characteristics and memories can be falsified. He would argue that because our memories can be lost and altered with certain drugs, accidents and illnesses such as Alzheimer’s; the main part of what makes us- us is the link between our minds and our physical form (our bodies). It would then follow that the only plausible after-death-existence would be embodied. It is the first point made by Descartes and many others which this essay will lean towards as it will be argued that disembodied existence is as philosophically plausible, if not more so than embodied.
Many would claim that Christianity can be used to argue both sides of this issue. An example of where it may be used to
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 souls can be reunited- Peter Geach
5- Characteristics and memories can be changed and falsified- Bernard William
Descartes said ‘ My essence consists solely in the fact that I am a thinking thing’. This, if true, implies that our consciousness is separate from our bodies and so we must be able to exist without said bodies. This of course would then falsify the statement as disembodied life after death would be possible. Indeed, there are many who dispute this argument and one who would agree with the given statement is Bernard William who claims that characteristics and memories can be falsified. He would argue that because our memories can be lost and altered with certain drugs, accidents and illnesses such as Alzheimer’s; the main part of what makes us- us is the link between our minds and our physical form (our bodies). It would then follow that the only plausible after-death-existence would be embodied. It is the first point made by Descartes and many others which this essay will lean towards as it will be argued that disembodied existence is as philosophically plausible, if not more so than embodied.
Many would claim that Christianity can be used to argue both sides of this issue. An example of where it may be used to