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Are there any good reasons to think we are purely physical, and not a unity of soul and body? Last week I considered four reasons that fail. This week I’ll consider a fifth.
Some argue that we should have “blind” faith in science, believing that though now it cannot explain all we are physically, one day it will. I’ll share four reasons this is wrong thinking.
1 CommentAll disagreements about what promotes the good life—human flourishing and the common good—depend on one’s answer to the question “What is it to be human?” The last two weeks I’ve argued we are a unity of soul and body. This week I’ll consider the second answer: “To be human is to be a purely physical thing—a human body.” Here I’ll discuss four reasons people give in favor of this view, and next week I’ll discuss another two reasons. I’ll also explain why I think these reasons fail–why physicalism is not the right answer to the question.
Leave a CommentWhat we believe we are, determines how we approach life, how we define human flourishing, and how we think about political, cultural, moral and spiritual issues. Last week I offered three reasons to believe we have a soul, in addition to a body. This then grounds our equality and dignity as human persons. This week I offer three more reasons.
Leave a CommentWe want to believe in equality, human dignity, value and worth, and the possibility of human flourishing and the common good. But these ideas make sense only if we have a shared human nature that makes us all the same and equally valuable. This shared human nature is not part of our physical dimension (our physical “substance”), but is part of our immaterial dimension (our immaterial “substance”). Therefore Substance Dualism is the only way to ground and defend these ideas.
1 CommentI write a lot about “human flourishing”—living a whole and healthy life marked by “shalom” (complete well-being). Yet to define what true flourishing is for a human, we must first define what a human is, for different types of things flourish in different environments.
4 Comments“If I can’t see it, it isn’t real.” This is another way people often express their belief in Physicalism. So far I’ve offered two reasons Physicalism can’t be true. In this final post on the topic I’ll offer a third….
In sum, if Physicalism is true, then we would have to reject all consciousness, including all rational thought. This is a very hard thing to admit, and therefore few Physicalists are willing to do so. But the honest Physicalist must do so and grant that “no one has ever had a thought in his life” and “there cannot be a rational reason to believe in Physicalism.” Let me explain.
Leave a Comment“If science can’t prove it, it isn’t real.” This is another way the belief in Physicalism” is expressed. Last week I discussed one reason Physicalism dies before it gets started as a rational approach to the world—it is logically self-defeating. This week I’ll tackle a second problem with Physicalism—it can’t explain so much of what we observe every day.
Leave a Comment“I only believe what I can see.” This belief is everywhere, and is called “Physicalism.” Last week I discussed ways it shows up in our culture, and some of the disastrous consequences. This week I offer one of three reasons why Physicalism is not rational.
Leave a Comment“Seeing is believing.” This is the mantra of Physicalism—the belief that only physical things exist. If it isn’t physical (and therefore explainable by science), it isn’t real. This defines out of existence an awful lot of things, such as God, souls, the afterlife, moral values, beauty and truth.
3 CommentsIn my post two weeks ago I made the point that as leaders we should make decisions based on objective, transcendent moral principles. Last week I responded to one objection often raised that we must be ready to answer. This week I’ll respond to the other two objections often raised against this view.
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