Neil Degrasse Tyson: A Philosophical Analysis
I. In this paper, I will be arguing for the following claim……..
As stated by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist, “Once upon a time, people identified the god Neptune as the source of storms at sea. Today we call these storms hurricanes… The only people who still call hurricanes acts of God are the people who write insurance forms.” This quote by Neil DeGrasse Tyson not only applies to storms, but also applies to many things we previously did not understand. It basically displays the idea that just because we do not understand a concept, does not mean we will not be able to explain it in the future. Our society must get to the point of being comfortable with not knowing, instead of using myth to explain concepts we do not understand. In …show more content…
According to Julien Musolino, a cognitive scientist, the current scientific consensus denies any view of a soul or spirit as being separate from the brain. For the naturalist, which are individuals that subscribe to the philosophy that all of our credible science and understanding of the world is based on physical reality, there really is no reason to bring in fanciful notions like the soul into play. This concept of the soul can just be referred to as the mind and just because we do not fully understand it, it does not mean individuals should just use superstition to fill the void for lack of information on the subject. However, there are more arguments that support my …show more content…
It is possible that people created the concept of the soul because we did not have modern science to understand how the brain functions. Additionally, there is a physicalist theory in philosophy known as functionalism. This theory trusts on the idea of realization to explain the connection between consciousness and the physical body. From my understanding, the body creates various mental states at the benefit of the body. An example of these mental states would be anger, faith, sadness, etc. In essence, these mental states form to serve a function for the physical being, whereas a computer does not experience these states and just processes information, thus not having a mind.
III. However, there are those who disagree with my position and challenge it. A summary of the opposing position is as follows……..
The general argument that supports the existence of the soul is the idea that there is immaterial beyond the physical. This immaterial world holds concepts like objective right and wrong, the soul, perfect ideals, and humanness. These challenges in support of the immaterial domain is supported by religious doctrine, Plato’s theories, and analysis of realities where physical reductionist theories struggle. In this essay, I will attempt to present the most credible challenges from my opponents.
IV. Some of their
As stated by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist, “Once upon a time, people identified the god Neptune as the source of storms at sea. Today we call these storms hurricanes… The only people who still call hurricanes acts of God are the people who write insurance forms.” This quote by Neil DeGrasse Tyson not only applies to storms, but also applies to many things we previously did not understand. It basically displays the idea that just because we do not understand a concept, does not mean we will not be able to explain it in the future. Our society must get to the point of being comfortable with not knowing, instead of using myth to explain concepts we do not understand. In …show more content…
According to Julien Musolino, a cognitive scientist, the current scientific consensus denies any view of a soul or spirit as being separate from the brain. For the naturalist, which are individuals that subscribe to the philosophy that all of our credible science and understanding of the world is based on physical reality, there really is no reason to bring in fanciful notions like the soul into play. This concept of the soul can just be referred to as the mind and just because we do not fully understand it, it does not mean individuals should just use superstition to fill the void for lack of information on the subject. However, there are more arguments that support my …show more content…
It is possible that people created the concept of the soul because we did not have modern science to understand how the brain functions. Additionally, there is a physicalist theory in philosophy known as functionalism. This theory trusts on the idea of realization to explain the connection between consciousness and the physical body. From my understanding, the body creates various mental states at the benefit of the body. An example of these mental states would be anger, faith, sadness, etc. In essence, these mental states form to serve a function for the physical being, whereas a computer does not experience these states and just processes information, thus not having a mind.
III. However, there are those who disagree with my position and challenge it. A summary of the opposing position is as follows……..
The general argument that supports the existence of the soul is the idea that there is immaterial beyond the physical. This immaterial world holds concepts like objective right and wrong, the soul, perfect ideals, and humanness. These challenges in support of the immaterial domain is supported by religious doctrine, Plato’s theories, and analysis of realities where physical reductionist theories struggle. In this essay, I will attempt to present the most credible challenges from my opponents.
IV. Some of their