What is a Human person?
Rene Descartes
*believe that reality is composed of mind (nonphysical, has freewill) and matter (physical, has no freewill) *we can doubt we have a body, but we cannot doubt we have a mind
body, soul
1. person's material aspect or matter (embodied spirit view) 2. formal aspect or form
Thomas aquinas
agrees with Aristotle and added that the rational soul of humans has a dual nature *dependent and independent to the body *unity of body and soul *vegetative and sensitive souls are mortal *rational souls are immortal
Plato
believe in immortality of soul: *one learns by remembering what one once knew but have somewhat forgotten *since soul are immaterial they are not composed of parts *if not composed of parts, they cannot decompose, thus cannot die
Mind-Brain Identity Theory
claims that what we call the mind is nothing but the brain, and what we call 'mental states' are nothing but the neural states of the brain
mind
emphasizes its consciousness
soul
emphasizes its life-giving function
spirit
emphasizes its non-bodily human component
existential approach
focuses on the kind of life, or mode of existence, that is unique; essential features
Metaphysical approach
focuses on the kinds of substances that uniquely make up a human person; essential components
Unspirited body view
human person is essentially just his/her body and nothing more humans do not have spiritual component
Disembodied spirit view
human person is essentially just his/her spirit body and spirit are co-existing spirit is independent to body
Embodied spirit view
human person is essentially the unity of his/her body and spirit the body and spirit cannot exist independently of one another
Behaviorism
mental states refers to one's inclinations or tendencies to show certain behaviors
Aristotle
regards the soul as the principle of life *distinguishes the soul of plants, animals, and humans
sensitive soul
soul of animals, with sensation and locomotion
rational soul
soul of humans, with intelligence and freewill
vegetative or nutritive soul
soul of plants, nourishment, growth, reproduction
Substance dualism
spirit and body are two different kinds of entities or substances in that the body is physical while the spirit is nonphysical