Evaluate the claim that the soul is distinct from the body...

Q.2 exam paper June 2011 Philosophy 2. Evaluate the claim that the soul is distinct from the body. There are many different views that the soul is distinct from the body of which appose this claim but at the same time there are those who agree with it. A famous Greek Philosopher named Plato was a duellist who believed that the soul is indeed distinct from the body. Plato believed that the soul is more important than the body as the body is apart of the empirical world and like all objects is subject to change (in a constant motion of change). Plato said that the body and its senses cannot be a reliable guide to the truth as it did not pre – exist in his idea of â€Å"the world of forms† and so the body can only seek truth from†¦show more content†¦Therefore no soul can be present without the body as the soul gives the body its structure and function; this means it is necessary for them to exist as one. Once the body dies the soul must die as they are dependant of each other. A current day philosopher name Richard Dawkins completely discredited that the soul even exists. He believed that there is no non-physical part of a person and that nothing exists apart from matter. Dawkins believed that some people would argue that consciousness was the soul, however he argued that consciousness was just a physical phenomena so there cannot be a soul. This is due to the idea that everything is physical which means conciseness cannot be separated from the brain. The reason that we have self awareness is due to our bodies being survival machines and so it would be seen as an evolutionary advantage to develop this self awareness. Overall it would seem that the idea that our soul is separate to the body would seem illogical. This is because the argument that consciousness and self awareness along with the idea that our bodies are physical phenomenons as a whole which is not separate seems to make more logical sense. Through the development of science we can see more and more commonly cases where evolution disproves the idea of any external factors being the motions behind our bodies. Consciousness and self awareness can be seen to be no more than electro chemicalsShow MoreRelatedThe Mortality Rate Of Humans1575 Words   |  7 Pagesrecognize that death is the terminal point in the life of a physical body. In a moment, a person s memory, personality, and experiences all seem to disappear. It is foolish for people to live a life unprepared for the inevitable where one s existence ceases to exist. In fact, the mortality rate of humans is 100 percent. Perhaps some essential part of people survive death and lives forever beyond the grave. The truth can come from two choices- speculation or revelation. 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