Since Dale posted something about the possibility of someday being able to create virtual people (computer programs) who are conscious, self-aware, real persons, I have been wanting to do some posts on the mind/body problem. I was just reading an old discussion I had on a message board, and I said something I thought was interesting to think about.
If we accept substance dualism--the view that the body and the soul are distinct substances that interact with one another, it would seem that the body is the window to the soul in the sense that it is through the physical senses that the soul is able to perceive. We have ears to hear, a nose to smell, skin to feel, eyes to see, and a tongue to taste.
Now let's say we die, and our soul survives the death of our bodies in a conscious state. Would we still be able to percieve sounds, smells, textures, flavours, and light? Would we be able to perceive anything at all physical if we had no physical instruments with which to perceive them?
Things that make you go "hmmmm..."
Next: Argument for substance dualism: identity through change
4 comments:
Doesn't the Bible state we get new, perfect bodies after we die? Hmm, I could be wrong about that.
Kelly, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the resurrection happens at the second coming, so we'll be disembodied between death and resurrection.
Do you think when we die, we could be in an unconscious state instead?
Yes, Dale, I think that's possible, though I don't think it's actual.
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