Thursday, February 7, 2008
Discourse, Part 5: Immortal Soul
Descartes talks about the rational soul in part five of the Discourse. He discusses the human form as a separate entity that does not necessarily require the rational soul in order to operate. Descartes claims that God did not initially pair his design of the human body with a rational soul, but rather with animal spirits. The idea that the human body can exist with or without the rational soul implies that the soul is completely distinct from the body. Descartes claims that the human soul is powerful enough to exist independently of the body (something that animal spirits can’t do), and therefore it is able to survive when the body dies. While disease and aging wear down the human body and eventually destroy it, the human soul is immune to these and all other forces. This makes the soul immortal.
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5 comments:
This is an extremely interesting idea and it seems similar to Socrates idea about the soul, although not exactly the same. Socrates said that the body traps the soul and when the body dies, the soul is freed. I'm starting to notice that Descartes seems to get a lot of his ideas from other philosophers. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not yet lol.
I think Descartes thinks of the soul as the higher being compared to the body. You say he says the body does not require the soul, but I thought he meant the soul does not require the body. The soul is closer to God and therefore closer to truth. The body is limbs and inhibited. The soul is free.
I agree with Descartes that the soul is separate from the body. However how do we really know it's immortal. Those who have died can't tell us if there is an after life or if there is reincarnation or if we just cease to exist. We really don't know and there isn't any concrete way to find out.
Descartes recognizes the body and soul as two distinct entities. While he has doubts about whether the body really exists (he touches upon that in part 6 of meditations), he knows that soul exists--the whole "i think therefore i am" thing.. Steven, youre right that the soul does not require the body.. if it did, then saying that the soul is immortal would imply that we, body and all, are immortal.. But in Descartes' comparison of humans and animals, he notes that both have bodies with organs, limbs, etc., but only humans have a rational soul. So animal bodies do not have souls, but rather "animal spirits." I'm not sure if Descartes meant that these animal spirits are just a lesser version of the rational soul or if its just some.. spirit.. but mostly what I got out of it is that the body does not require the soul, but it is better off with it.
One i think you did a good job describing this section and two i'm not so sure that the body and soul are two seperate things that we are born with a soul which is us until we die then it leaves the body seperating from us
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