Class 11, Language Development, Unit 16, Critical Thinking

 

Unit-16, Critical Thinking

What is the Soul?

Bertrand Russell

 

Before you read:

 About the Author

-Bertrand Arthur William Russell, -British, a person of wide knowledge or learning, philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist, and Nobel laureate.

 Summary:

 Modern science is still unable to find out lots of things. It is believed that humans are made of body and soul. Body exists in time and space but soul only exist in time. Despite the distinct concepts about the existence of soul, its existence is unquestionable. The scientists and common people unquestionably accept the existence of the body, but philosophers have different concept about the existence of soul which the orthodox scientists don't accept. Physicists only think of existence of body where as psychologists only think of mind as a cobbler only thinks of shoes or a tailor only thinks of clothes. In other words psychologists reduce physical activities to mental activity and psychologists reduce mental activities to physical activities.   But there are many difficulties to reduce mental activities to physical activities. On the basis of physics we call our body an elaborate scientific construction which doesn't match with any physical reality. For a certain degree of success, the modern physicist reduces the mental activities to the physical activities, but can't explain the fact that the body itself is merely a suitable concept invented by the mind. In this way we are going round and round in a circle that mind is production of body and body is an invention of mind. That is why we have to find out such a thing out of which both mind and body get birth.

 The plain man thinks that material objects must certainly exists and felt by our sense organs. Our understanding is that we can touch or hit any object which really exists. The physics have different concept about it. When we hit or touch anything, actually we don't touch them, it is only our illusion because of electrons and protons. The electrons and protons of our body are either attracted or repelled by the electrons and protons of that object.  When the electrons and protons of our body is disturbed by nearness of the electrons and protons of that object, it transmit the disturbance to our brain through our nerves, and such effect in our brain gives us a sensation of contact and suitable experiments can make such sensation more deceptive. Electrons and protons can made different kinds of events making matter more ghostly.

 

Modern science doesn't give any indication of the existence of the soul or mind. There are various reasons for not believing in soul like the reasons for not believing in matter. The fight of mind and matter is just like a fight between a lion and a unicorn for a crown, but the end of the battle is not victory of one or the other. Both are unique. The world consists of events which are collected into two groups according to their casual relations. The resulting groups are called physical object and mind. One kind of group of events is constituent of man's brain (body) and another kind of groups of events is constituent of mind (soul).

 

Brain and mind are convenient ways of organizing our experiences/events. So there is no reason for assuming either a piece of mind or a piece of matter is immortal. The most essential characteristic of of a mind is memory. Memory doesn't survive after the death of a person because our memory is connected to a certain kind of brain structure and the very brain decays at death. Psychologists are always motivated by two main desires: the first is to prove that the mind is immortal, and to prove that the ultimate power in the universe is mental rather than physical. In comparison to these things, materialists are right. Our desires have considerable power on the Earth's surface, but our power is limited. Because yet we are unable to do anything to the sun or moon or the interior of the earth. The actual happenings in this world is not because of mind or because somebody wishes it to happen. Our power on this earth is entirely depended upon the sun. So it is impossible to dogmatize the future achievements of the science. It is the matter of the second law of thermodynamics. Science can only increase our terrestrial comfort that is why it has been tolerated.

 

a. Which of one do you think is primary: body or soul? Why?

As far as the priority between body and soul is concerned, I don't want to separate them thinking one is superior to another. Any human is not complete without body and soul. Body is a place where soul resides. As a temple without any god is no more a temple. One can't have faith in such temple where there is any god. The soul is invisible thing which gives our true identity. Merely a body without a soul is like a machine without conscience, feeling, emotion, passion, identity.

 

b. "A circle has no beginning" Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.

Ans:- When a creator draws a circle with the help of a compass, he knows the beginning and ending. But after its construction, the observers don't see it's beginning and ending. But it doesn't mean that there is no beginning and ending. It depends on how we observe it. But symbolically it has many meanings. It symbolizes infinity or endless or eternity, or never ending.

 

Exercises:

Ways with words

A. The words in the crossword puzzle are from the text. Find them from the text to solve the puzzle based on the meaning clues given below.

 

Across:

3. Emergence or origination - emanation

5. impossible to achieve or overcome- insuperable

7. Appropriate of suitable - apt

8. Force back - repel

10. Up to now - hitherto

 

Down

1. Unquestionable, impossible to doubt - indubitable

2. Never done or known before - unprecedented

4. Obviously or clearly - evidently

6. Moved with a violent, irregular action - actuated

9. Conservative - orthodox

 

B. Find the words from the text that mean the following. The first letter is given.

a. misleading or illusionary                                      (deceptive)

b. in a natural state; not yet processed or refined     (crude)

c. a mystical horse like animal with a single straight horn projecting from its forehead

(Unicorn)

d. never dying or decaying                                       (immortal)

e. came to an end; stop                                            (cease)

f. to activate of put into motion                                (actuated)

 

 

Comprehension

Answer these questions.

a. What's the difference between the body and the soul?

Ans:- The difference between the body and soul is that, body exists in time and place where as soul exists only in time. In other words, body is visible entity and soul is not visible.

 

b. What do you understand by the psychologist's saying that there is no such thing as mind?

Ans:- Psychologists study mental processes and human behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how people relate to one another and the environment. The primary concern of them is human mind, and they make us assure that human body is controlled by mind/soul.

 

c. How can a mental activity be reduced to a physical activity?

Ans:- Mental activity can be reduced to a physical activity by saying mind is just an emanation of body which is really an elaborate scientific construction.

 

d. How are mind and body related?

Ans:- Both mind/soul and body/matter are equally important. These two things are the convenient ways of collecting the events inside a man's head into two groups according to causal relations. And both of them are mortal.

 

e. What is the relation between mind and memory? Does memory survives a person's death?

Ans:- Memory is the most essential characteristics of mind/soul. Memory does not survive after the the person's death because memory is connected to a certain kind of brain structure which decays after death hence memory also dies.

 

f. How is our power on the earth's surface entirely dependent upon the sun?

Ans:- Our power on the earth's surface is entirely dependent upon the sun it is because of the second law of thermodynamics or law of  nature. Or in other words, heat energy flows from hot body to cold body. The sun helps to activate climate, and to grow plants on the earth from which we get oxygen and food. It activates light cycle of our body.  

 

Critical Thinking

a. Do you believe that soul really exists? Write your arguments in support of your answer.

Science doesn't believe in the existence of the 'soul' as it believes on the existence of material things. It only believes on the things which are experimented on the lab. And yet we haven't found any shape and physical entity of soul. But there is something beyond the science. There are thousands of unidentified things in this universe, but it doesn't mean they don't exist. As soul, there are many mysterious things where science fails to prove. The subject of the existence of the soul is something like same. As far as I am concerned to this topic, I do believe in the existence of 'soul'. But, I am quite doubtful in its existence after our death. But, it is an unseen force helping to shape our identity. I believe that humans are made of body, soul and spirit. Body keeps us conned to this physical world, soul connects us to our fellow beings, and spirit connects us to the God. We feel, taste, touch, hear, see, have physical desires such as food, shelter, clothes, oxygen, it is because of our body which is material. But it is soul because of which we have feelings, emotions, beliefs, wishes, passion, attitude, conscience, goodness and evilness, personality and so on. And spirit is supernatural things, or life force because of what we move ahead. We gain wisdom, knowledge and incline to the God.

 

 b. If you want to change your body, you first have to change your mind. Discuss.

Ans:- Psychologists say mind shapes our body, or our physical activities are creations of our mind. First we think and act or in other words our minds give commands to our body. To do anything first we must be prepared mentally. A thought comes in our mind first and our body does according to that thought. For example, I go to market to buy something after thinking about to buy it. Not only that, our mind controls our activities too. Sometimes it forces to do where are it becomes liberal. There are several examples that mind works first and body. Consciously or unconsciously a thought comes to our mind before we act. Another example, If I find myself weight gaining, first I think of doing physical exercises, or controlling diet and eating behavior and we carry out in action.

Writing

Write critically on the given topics.

a. The existence of God

The existence of God has always been discussed and argued over by many people as some argue that he does exist while others argue that he does not exist. Many people have varying views on how the world came into existence as some people share common beliefs on this issue. Arguments on the existence of God come in different forms basing on history, personal experience, science and philosophy. I believe that God does exist because there are several evidences:

 

Who created this world? World did not create itself and therefore, there must be something or some being that created it. I believed that the entire world was created by the gods and everyone should believe in them. If there is no God, then how did the universe come into existence? It is a fact that nothing can really come into existence unless there is someone or something behind its existence, therefore nothing comes from nothing, and it has to come from something. The world works with specific laws which are followed by everyone. The universe is arranged in an orderly manner and it took a supreme being to arrange it the way it is in order since everything was created for its purpose. This argument for the existence of God is successful because it takes a supreme being to create and arrange everything in the universe for its sole purpose.

 

b. Religion influences ethics and morality.

Ans:- Religion represents the worship of God or sensitive to God. Human beings believe in god through the religion of their family. Moreover, Religion is the principle or beliefs’ system having passion and faith toward god. The religious scriptures teach us what we have to do and what we don't have to do. In other words, we learn ethics and morality from religion because it declares the existence of our soul after death either in peaceful state or suffers according to the deeds we do while we live on this earth. The sufferings of our soul are the punishment of the god of which we always fear. The purpose of punishment is to let human to understand the consequence of making sins and wrong decision. This is to ensure every individual will be in the right path in life that is ethics and morality of religion. Hence, the existence of religion is important in societies to create a harmonious environment for human to leave in peace.

 

***The End***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Human
Body ( Outermost )	Soul (outer man)	Spirit (Inner man)
Physical entity-bone/flesh Tangible/not eternal, Physical senses- Smell, taste, touch, wear, see, Brain, verves, cells, organs, Physical desire- food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep etc. -Connects to the physical world	Incorporeal/not composed of matter, eternal/permanent, transmigration, Personality/self Conscious mind- thinking, reasoning, choice Sub Conscious mind- emotion, feeling, belief, passion, attitude, will -Connects to fellow beings	Essence, meaning, purpose, worship, supernatural existence, life force, will power, knowledge, wisdom, understanding -Connects to God
A place to dwell soul	A place to dwell spirit	A place to dwell God