soul mind and body

• Midgley


  Aimed for an approach to Philosophy that was rooted in ordinary life

  both dualist and materialist approaches are needed to understand the world

  • we can study the activity of the neurones that make up our brains; but that does not mean that the things the brain produces – thoughts, memories, a sense of self – are not real - Humans are complex beings
• Midgley

  Dualism makes us forget we are part of the natural world - leads to unethical consequences - eg environmental abuse

  Materialism ignores the inner experience, narrowing our views so that we think only science has the answers. Thoughts and memories are a crucial part of reality for human beings

  • if I want to learn from my mistakes, then I need to think about how and why I chose wrongly the last time – solely contemplating the movements of brain cells instead is unlikely to be helpful

  both materialism and dualism needed to fully understand a person