Philosophy 1010 Class #6 Title: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Paul Dickey E-mail Address: pdickey2@mccneb.edu Today Midterm Exam, Chapters 1-2 and Critical Thinking 1/29/13 If you have not already done so, read: Velasquez, Philosophy: A Text With Readings, Chapter 3, Sections 3.1 – 3.5 Watch one of the movies discussed in Chapter Three. See p. 147, 154, 165, 179, or 186 (12e). Be prepared to discuss in class the movie in its relation to the reading assignment.

On Human Nature: A Metaphysical Study Chapter 2 On Human Nature: A Metaphysical Study What is it to be Human? What is a Person? What is a Self? What is a Soul? What is a Person Worth?

The Traditional Western View The Prevalent View Regarding the Nature of Man Makes Four Basic Claims: That the self is conscious (has reason) and has a purpose That the self is distinct from the body, but somehow is related. That the self endures through time. That the self has an independent existence from other selves

The Traditional Western View The Traditional Western View of Human Nature is the one most commonly held in our culture. Yet different philosophers throughout history have questioned and rejected every one of the four tenets with various arguments.

The Traditional Rationalist View (Plato) For Plato, humans have a nonphysical or material soul or self in agreeing with all these assumptions. Plato contends that since reason often conflicts with our desires (or appetites) and that either of these can conflict with our aggression, each of these comprise one of the three main elements of our soul (self). For Plato, man can choose what part of his self rules his actions. (Free Will?) Because reason alone can know how we ought to live, it should rule the appetite and our aggressions.

The Traditional Rationalist View (Aristotle) Aristotle (384-322 BC) mostly agreed with Plato but went on to argue that reason can discover the truth about man in the natural world, and how we should act. Thus, Aristotle is rejecting Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, suggesting that Plato’s world of shadows can be known through reason. Ah, isn’t this the basic motivation for science? For Aristotle, all living things and the natural world have purpose (telos). The purpose of man is to control desires and aggression through reason.

The Traditional Western Religious View (Judeo-Christian) “The purpose of man is to love and serve God.” (St. Augustine – 354-430 AD) Although influenced by Plato, this view asserts that humans are made in the image of God. Man has an immaterial and immortal soul (like Plato) and the ability to love and to know, in the very manner of God. Augustine emphasized that humans have will and intellect, the ability to choose between good and evil. “The purpose of man is to know God through reason.” (St. Thomas Aquinas - c. 1225 –1274)

The Traditional Western View The Traditional Western View of Human Nature is the one most commonly held in our culture. Yet different philosophers throughout history have questioned and rejected every one of the four tenets with various arguments.

The most radical view is perhaps the Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre -- 1905 – 1980. “Existence precedes essence.” Humans are radically free. Human nature itself is determined by a man’s choices. There is no fixed universal human nature (or soul) prior to the choices that an individual free man makes. Existentialism challenges our basic values of western civilization that human nature in some way is “fixed.” God does not exist. Human, All Too Human http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxbkPCLlXII

Ten Minute Break!

The Traditional Western View The Prevalent View Regarding the Nature of Man Makes Four Basic Claims: That the self is conscious (has reason) and has a purpose That the self is distinct from the body, but somehow is related. That the self endures through time. That the self has an independent existence from other selves

the Traditional Rationalist View Challenges to the Traditional Rationalist View Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) claimed that man acts only to satisfy his desires. In particular, he possesses a basic, powerful desire for aggressiveness and sexual pleasure. Man views others as objects. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) claimed that the man’s primary desire was for power over others. Moritz Schlick (1882-1936) and Mark Mercer argue that man is able to act only out of self-interest. They recognize the appearance of unselfish behavior, but claim even such behavior occur only because of perhaps unrecognized self-interest.

Challenges to the Traditional Rationalist View Feminism The traditional view seems to be sexist in that it assumes that reason is male and emotions are female (e.g. Aristotle & Augustine) By calling for the subjugation of emotions to reason, does the traditional view take a gender bias? Some feminist philosophers repudiate the traditional rationalist view and reject reason as the basis of human nature. Others agree that reason is primary and say the view only needs to be modified to remove gender bias and to acknowledge that reason is gender neutral. Genevieve Lloyd suggests that the issue is even more fundamental and may be near impossible to resolve. Let’s read her quotation at the bottom of page 80.

Is the Rationalist View Racist? Aristotle claimed that since barbarians were less rational than Greeks, it was justifiable to rule and enslave them because they were less human. Caveat Emptor: Such an assertion does not logically follow from Plato.

Darwinism Evolutionary theory claims that random variations and natural selection make species evolve. To many, this suggests that humans are not unique and that there perhaps is no special purpose to human life. Charles Darwin – 1809–1882 Darwin does not himself take a position on the question whether God exists.

the Traditional Rationalist View Other Challenges to the Traditional Rationalist View Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) claimed that man acts only to satisfy his desires. In particular, he possesses a basic, powerful desire for aggressiveness and sexual pleasure. Man views others as objects. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) claimed that the man’s primary desire was for power over others. Moritz Schlick (1882-1936) believed that man is able to act only out of self-interest. Schlick recognized the appearance of unselfish behavior, but claimed even such behavior occurred only because of unrecognized self-interest.

The Traditional Western View The Prevalent View Regarding the Nature of Man Makes Four Basic Claims: That the self is conscious and has a purpose That the self is distinct from the body, but somehow is related. That the self endures through time. That the self has an independent existence from other selves

The Dualist View of Human Nature The Dualist View is an ancient view that can be traced back to Plato and the Traditional Rationalist View of Human Nature. A developed, systematic view of Dualism was best expressed by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Descartes argues that he can imagine his self without a body, thus the self is not the body. We cannot think of the self without thought which is immaterial. Thus, the mind and body must be distinct. Descartes further argues that the mind or “soul” is the essential form of the self and could exist without the body. I think, therefore I am.

The Mind-Body Problem So how can the mind as a non-physical entity cause the physical body to act and how can the physical body cause changes in the state of the mind? Can the mind add energy or force to the physical world? But that is exactly what seems to happen when I decide to move my hand and then move it. How can a physical body alter a state of consciousness or thought? But that is exactly what seems to happen when a fly buzzes near my head and I become annoyed.

Cartesian Dualism on the Mind-Body Problem Descartes suggested that the mind/body interacts through the pineal gland, a small gland near the brain by being so small that an immaterial mind could move it. But the problem still seems to remain! No matter how small a physical object is, it is of course still a physical object.

Responses to Cartesian Dualism Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) denied that the mind and body actually do interact. They only appear to do so. Leibniz argued that the mind and the body operate in parallel universes like synchronized clocks. Nicholas Malebranche (1683-1715) argued that such a synchronism could not occur by coincidence. Only by the constant act of God could the two worlds be kept parallel.

Materialism Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) rejects Cartesian dualism claiming that Descartes Mind/Body problem itself refutes dualism. Since mind and body cannot interact, they cannot both exist within human nature. There can only be one realm of human nature and that is the material world. All human activities, including the mental, can be explained on the paradigm of a machine.

Materialism Hobbes was reductionist in that he believed that one kind of purported reality (the mind) could be understood entirely in terms of another (matter). New scientific techniques of observation and measurement being used by Galileo, Kepler, and Copernicus were making giant strides in understanding the universe. The spirit of his century suggested to Hobbes that all reality would be explained in time in terms only of the observable and the measurable. Hobbes himself was unable to explain any mental processes in terms of the physical. Perhaps motivating Hobbes’ view was basically his passionate faith in the advancement of science at the time.

The Traditional Western View The Prevalent View Regarding the Nature of Man Makes Four Basic Claims: That the self is conscious and has a purpose That the self is distinct from the body, but somehow is related. That the self endures through time. That the self has an independent existence from other selves

Is There An Enduring Self? Descartes argues that the enduring self is the soul, an enduring immaterial being or existence. John Locke (1632-1704) says that the enduring self is a based only on our having continuous memory. Buddhism asserts that nothing in the universe, particularly the self, remains the same from one moment to the next. David Hume (1711-1776) also denies that there is an enduring self. He argues that only what we perceive exists and that we never perceive an enduring self, only a constant flow of perceptions.

The Traditional Western View The Prevalent View Regarding the Nature of Man Makes Four Basic Claims: That the self is conscious and has a purpose That the self is distinct from the body, but somehow is related. That the self endures through time. That the self has an independent existence from other selves

Is the Self Independent or Relational? Descartes argues that the self exists independently of others and the independent self can judge the truth about what is. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) suggests that the self is the ability to choose independently of others, and not being determined by conforming to others. Georg W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) proposes that the self is relational. A person is only free and independent if others recognize him or her to be so. Charles Taylor (1931- ) argues that we depend on others for the very definition of what our real self is.

Midterm Exam Good Luck!!!