Philosophy of Mind: Materialism, Dualism, and the Human Mind

This essay delves into the philosophy of mind, exploring the concepts of materialism and dualism, and their implications for understanding the human mind and consciousness. The first section defines materialism as the belief that everything, including the mind, is physical, potentially negating free will and life after death. In contrast, substance dualism posits that the mind and body are distinct entities, suggesting a soul separate from the body. The second section contrasts substance dualism with property dualism, which acknowledges the mind's unique properties while remaining connected to the physical body. Finally, the essay discusses why one might prefer property dualism over substance dualism, highlighting its more realistic approach to the mind-body relationship, and the ultimate end of the mind with the physical body. The essay uses references to support the arguments presented.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
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Question 1.
Materialism is the firm belief that every existing thing with the universe is made from
physical materials and this involves the human brain as well as the mind (Armitage 2017).
According to materialism, human mind and brain are not two different but same part of the body,
and it dies with the last breath. Therefore, materialism seems to rule out free will and life after
death. However, substance dualism is consistent with the two terms for it believes that mind and
brain are separate from one another. Dualism belief that every individual has a soul that is
entirely separate from the body.
Question 2.
Property dualism is a belief that there is two distinct kind of properties in the world,
physical and mental property (Taliaferro and Farris 2016). According to substance dualism, the
mind is a separate identity from the physical body while the property dualism is the belief that
although the mind is different from the physical human frame. Therefore, substance dualism
believes that the soul will go on living after death whereas to property dualism, it is still related
to the human body and it will end with death.
Question 3.
Substance dualism and property dualism are two positions in the philosophy of mind that
tries to answer the relation between the mental and physical. The reason one can choose to be a
property dualist rather than substance dualist is on the primary ground that is to be realistic.
Property dualist is more realistic and acknowledges the fact that mind and brain are separate.
Also, it presents the realistic perspective that the brain and mind will come to an end with the
death of the human body.

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References:
Armitage, D., 2017. Introduction. In Heidegger and the Death of God (pp. 1-7). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Taliaferro, C. and Farris, J.R., 2016. Introduction. In The Ashgate Research Companion to
Theological Anthropology (pp. 21-32). Routledge.