Nature Of The Person

A Synoptic Study Of Philosophy of Religion and

Buddhism

Dualism

Dualism

• Dual – Duo – concerned with 2 things

• Concerned with the relationship between mind and matter

• Substance Dualism – what we’re bothered about

Descartes

• Substance Dualism suggests;• Mind and Matter are distinct and separate.• Body = machine• Mind/Soul = operator• Body can influence mind however;

acts ofpassion etc.

1596 - 1650

Descartes' Doubts

• Can doubt so many things, e.g. body could be a dream

• Cannot doubt that we doubt• Mind is more important as cannot

be doubted.• “Meditations on First Philosophy”

The Pineal Gland

• Descartes thought the mind/soul existed here

• Pineal gland actually produces a powerful antioxidant melatonin used mainly to protect nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.

•

Plato

• Student of Socrates and tutor of Aristotle

• Like Descartes – gave more importance to the mind than the body.

• Chariot Analogy• Cave Analogy• Theory of the Forms• Tent Analogy

ca.428 – ca.348 bce

Chariot Analogy

• Presented in his dialogue “Phaedrus”.• Black horse represents the appetitive part of

the soul• White horse represents the spirited part of

the soul• The charioteer represents the rational mind.• In an enlightened soul Plato believes the

charioteer will have full control over the horses.

Plato’s Cave Analogy

• We are as prisoners at the bottom of a cave watching shadows on a wall and believing them to be real life.

• The quest for truth is long, painful and must be made alone. Others may not believe the conclusions because they are still in the cave. (Republic Book 6 Chapter 7)

Plato’s Theory of the Forms

• The Realm of the Forms is the realm of all true knowledge and perfections.

• All Souls originate here and return here after death

• Common misconception; Socrates came up with the idea of inherent knowledge.

• Our world is a fuzzy reflection of the world of the Forms

Forms

• One definition of a Form could be the “-ness” of something, e.g the “roundness” of a ball.

• Nothing outside the Realm of the Forms can be perfectly round, but can hint at roundness.

• Hierarchy:

FORM OF ROUNDNESS

Our Perception Of Perfect Roundness

Actual Roundness of a Ball in our World.

Tent Analogy

• This is a little hazy, but sometimes Plato seemed to believe in multiple rebirths before reaching the Realm of the Forms

• Each body is a new and improved style of tent:

Aristotle

• 4 Causes:• Material cause – what it’s made of• Efficient cause – what it’s made by• Formal cause – what gives it the shape

by which it is identified• Final cause – reason for existenceFinal cause is obviously more difficult for human beings.

384 - 322 bce

Materialism

•

Materialism

• A form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can be said to exist is matter.

• Totally opposite to Descartes thinking.• Interesting point - Buddhists don’t believe in a

soul, and yet matter is not the important substance either – rather becoming one with the universe – Atman (Hindu concept)

Richard Dawkins

• “The Selfish Gene” (1976)• There is no soul, everything comes

down to our biological wish to survive and breed.

• Not much more to say; belief is similar to Descartes’ view of the body but without the mind as a separate entity.

1941 –

John Hick

Idealism• The opposite of Materialism.• Everything is composed of Mind-

stuff, all apparent matter is brought into and kept in being through the mind.

• Can be associated with Plato and certainly Descartes.

• Many Buddhist school are characterized by idealism

Immanuel Kant

• German Philosophy• Founded “transcendental idealism”

– idea that reality conforms to our understanding of it and does not exist separately.

• Wrote “Critique of Pure Reason” (1787)

• Theory Of Perception

1724 - 1804

Kant’s Theory of Perception

• We can know things about the world through analytic and synthetic means as well as empirical means.

• Analytic = 1+1 = 2or “all spinsters are

unmarried”Synthetic = “Ecclesbourne blazers are

burgundy”

Buddhism - Anatta

• 3rd Mark of Existence alongside Dukkha and Anicca.• “atta” – Hindu word for “self/soul”, “an” implies

negative• Only world religion with this teaching• Closely linked with Anicca (impermanence) because

constant change means the lack of an essential self.• The 3 Fires of Akusala create a false image of the self.• The Chariot Analogy• Self (or lack of self) is made up of the 5 Skandhas.• Whilst false image of self exists, Samsara cannot be

escaped.

Akusala

• Greed

• Hatred

• Delusion

Kusala

• The 3 Positive Drives• These combat Akusala and destroy

the false image of the self• Faith• Wisdom• Discursiveness (non-attachment)

The (Buddhist) Chariot Analogy

• A monk named Nagasena visited King Milinda of Bactria and demonstrated through dismantling a chariot that there is no one thing that names an object or person as itself . Composite sections form a whole, and so one cannot point out the part of a chariot amongst dismantled parts that is the chariot in the same way one cannot identify a person’s self or soul.

The 5 Skandhas• Rupa - - physical, e.g. eyes ears etc

- non-physical – name• Vedana - - the way the body picks things up e.g.

eyes detect light mind detects thoughts

- neutral, pleasant or unpleasant.- mind counts as a sense in Buddhism

• Sanna - - the recognition of sensation• Sankhara - - only volitional acts register Karma

- in Buddhism moods, longing etc count as volitional however, as Buddhists believe they can be controlled.

- 52 mental activities with karmic affects• Vinanna - - the accumulation on the previous 4

Skandhas.

The Tibetan Wheel Of Life - Samsara

Outer Circle – the 12 Nidanas which keep us in the cycle or birth and rebirth

Inner Circle – the 6 Realms

Yama - turner of the Wheel of Life

Akusala

Samsara – The 12 Nidanas

• Also known as “dependant origination”, “conditioned genesis”, “Paticcasamuppada”, these are the nature of causation!

• These are the things that prevent realisation of Anatta and keep us in Samsara.

• If He Concentrates Like Six Concentrating Fish, Can George Buy Blue Dungarees?

The 12 Nidanas

• Ignorance – blind man

• Habits - potter

• Consciousness – restless monkey

• Life Force – man (mind) in boat (body)

• Six Senses (includes the mind) – house with 6 windows

• Contact – couple kissing

• Feeling – man who has been shot in the eye with an arrow

• Craving – a sweet drink

• Grasping – a man picking fruit who already has a full basket

• Becoming – copulating couple

• Birth – labour/mother & baby

• Death – funeral pyre.

Rebirth!

A candle being lit from one that’s just going out.

Not water being transferred from one bowl to another.

The Synoptic Bit

• There is an old Chinese proverb that reads “Am I a man dreaming I’m a butterfly or a Butterfly dreaming I’m a man?” This is used in Buddhism to broaden the mind and epitomises Descartes doubts in “Meditations on First Philosophy”.

•Anatta could be compared with Materialism, as the lack of soul suggests this, however it seems more like Idealism when concerned with metaphysics given than many schools of Buddhism believe existence is in the mind.

•There are similarities between Aristotle’s 4 causes and the 5 Skandhas in Buddhism.

•Although not particularly similar in content, comparisons can be drawn between Plato’s chariot analogy and the story of the monk Nagasena and King Milinda.

•Plato’s belief in rebirth correlates with the Buddhist concept of the Tibetan Wheel of Life.

•In some ways the Buddhist teaching of Anatta can be identified with Dualism, Materialism and Idealism!!!