The Soul As The Enduring Self

The Soul As The Enduring Self Furthermore, according to the passage, Stelios in Mars can feel and think exactly the same as real Stelios in the earth mean that Stelioss soul is still the same. He is able to know who he is, what he is doing and anything that related to him. Besides that, the Traditional view mentioned that wherever the mind is, the person is there because the person is the mind(Velasquez, 2008). Therefore, if the mind or soul is transferred to another body, the person still remains himself or herself. They just use body as the tool to exist. In Stelios case, assuming that the teletransporter system can destroy brain and body cell by cell, however, it can not destroy his thinking soul or thinking mind which is immaterial or spiritual in order to stop his existence or replace him by a clone. 2/ I personally believe that memory is the source of the enduring self. First of all, memory consist of our past and also changing us through the environment. In other words,the memory or the past reflects our character, attitude, thinking, mind as well as enduring self. Everyone have been through different memories, different environment, different status so that we hold different personal identity. In facts, If the person is experiencing another persons memory or past, his personal identity might be different from the present. For example, I am a very good person and I grow up in a happy environment. On my 21st birthday, I involved in a serious accident and injured my brain. The doctor have transfered a new brain to replace my damaged brain. The new brain might caused me not to be the same person like my past because I do not aware how I used to be. The new brain do not have to same memories as I used to have. According to philosopher John Locke, he suggests that what makes a person at one time the same as a personat another time is memory which is the continuity of consciousness. Memory makes awareness of our action and our responsibility. Hence, our awareness force us to be responsible for what we have done in the past. If a person does not have any responsibility or consiousness in his memory, he is considerred not a same person anymore. For instance, a guy had an accident and lost his memory, he cannot remember anything before the accident. From my point of view, I strongly believe that he is not himself anymore and he has become a new person since he cannot be responsible for what he has done in the past. Part B: What does it mean to be human? 1/According to Mullins, when we start to believe that we are merely products of evolution, we are locked away from freedom and being used as tools by people who sit at the top of the heap. In other words, if we are told to consider ourselves as the products, we are not able to decide to be who we wish to be and we cannot change who we determined to be. By doing so, it make us agree to our fate that we are not free to change our status and lack of incentive to fight for our matters. For example, citizens are used in wars for the higher authority which is government and we have no choice to deny that demand from government. We would also blindly accept any unlucky things happen to us. It will just like a destiny that is unchangeable. Furthermore, when we believe everything is fated, we are not willingly to make the progression ourselves but just let it be. For example, a person who was born in the slave family would believe that he is fated to be a slave. He will also accept the fact t o be treated as a slave and unmotivated to fight for his freedom. The statement we are forever bound up in certain genetic reigns means that we are fated to be who we have to be base on our genetic. We might be born to be smart or stupid naturally and we can not choose to be. Therefore, we are not free to choose how we are and do things that we are not smart enough to do. For example, a person is born not smart enough to do maths well base on his parents genetic. He is not free to choose to be smart to do maths well and it is not how he wants to be. 2/ His statement has shown that he believe in human freedom. Even there are things that we may not be able to change such as skin colour, hair colour, height, family and feature, but we are still able to choose our life and destiny. We have to be responsible for our freedom to choose. Therefore, the consequences we bear reflected our free choices and actions. For instance, if we want to get A for our test (consequence), we have to choose to be hard working (choice and action). Even if we are born not smart, we still can work harder and harder because practices make perfect. Besides that, we are also free to think from any perspectives that are available. For instance, if we failed to meet our goal, we can choose to continue to fight for our goal or choose to give up and accept the consequences. According to Mullins, we are not just products of evolution, we are free. We can choose to break free from the control of the authority. We can deny doing what we do not wish to do. For example, the government demand their citizens to go to wars for the country. If it was a war that will not benefit the country, the citizens can choose to protest to the authority about the issue. The citizens have the choice to decide their life. However, they have to be responsible for their decisions. Part C: Strange New World No, I could be in the perfect virtual reality machine and not know it Yes, I know I am awake No, I cannot be sure I am not inside the matrix No, it is a real possibility I believe that the idea of a reality independent of my experience which we may not know or be able to experience is a philosophical red-herring. Reality is just what I experience whether or not I am in the Matrix. You selected the anti-skeptic responses 1/ The activities and the Matrix movie has shown me the definition of the Matrix which is the computer generated dream world that built to keep us under control in order to change human beings into battery. In other words, humans are under controlled by computers through creating a visual reality to them. The movie and activities have brought me to aware of the reality that I used to know might not be true. I might not get the real picture behind of the reality because I might be controlled by the computer programme which set me to believe the reality will be just as what I see now. I think that there is a possibility that I could be living in a virtual world, being controlled by a computer and did not realize it. Nowadays, the technology is so advanced until people rely so much on computer to perform their daily tasks. Human life now is so closely connected with computer. There might be a day that computers over turn humans and rule humans. The activities and Matrix movie have acted as a person to tell me about reality I am not aware before it.