Philosophy paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Philosophy paper - Essay ExampleWhat is in question is whether it is the mind/soul that makes us do things or it is the physical trunk. It is in any case a question of whether the mind (consciousness, or agent intellect) and body (matter) are one or distinct since it is the physical body that performs the functions. Materialists believe that everything in the world is make of physical matter and everything does what it does because of laws that govern physical matter or laws of physics (Dardis, 2008, nap). As such, what makes things happen in the world according to materialists, are physical properties and as such, the mind is physical. Aristotle rejects this view as he believes the mind or agent intellect is separate, inviolable and unmixed with matter (Caston, 2006, p. 318). The mind thus has non-physical properties. He is also a strong emergentist as he believes in the hierarchical arrangement of souls with each level of hierarchy supervening upon substance of preceding level (s upervenience) and in a downward causation. Jeffrey M Schwartz being an emergent dualist on the other hand believes that mental phenomena are in some respects non-physical. This essay will label the views of Aristotle and Schwartz on the nature of mental causation in order to draw out their areas of similarities and differences.Aristotle is of the view that the soul is identical to the body and also inseparable from the body just like wax and seal and that the souls and minds are ways bodies are organized. In his book On the Soul written 350 B.C.E Aristotle defines a soul as the actuality of a natural body whereby the body is the subject matter (Book II, Part 1). This is due to the fact that it is the property exhibited by the body. Just as a statue is make from Bronze, Bronze being the material and the statue being the final form, so is a soul to the body. The soul (physical reality or brain) thus is the form of the body or the primary substance and the body is the matter of