PHILOSOPHY 100 (Ted Stolze) Notes on James Rachels, Problems from Philosophy

Chapter Four: Do We Survive Death? “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)

Possible Theories of Life after Death Immortal Personal Soul (Socrates/Plato: Bhagavad Gita: Quantum Entanglement (Vedanta: Stuart Hameroff: Emergent Materialist Self (Epicurus: Christoph Koch: Soul Fragment (The Buddha: Thich Nhat Hanh: Stephen and Martine Batchelor: Douglas Hofstadter: Bodily Resurrection (Paul of Tarsus: &version=NIV; N.T. Wright: &version=NIV

Socrates’ Argument (in the Phaedo) for an Immortal Soul 1.Destroying something means breaking it down into its component parts. 2.But the soul is simple and has no component parts. 3.Therefore, the soul can neither be broken down nor destroyed.

Objections to Socrates Why think we have a soul? Why think that the soul is simple? Even if we have a soul, as Socrates’ friend Cebes suggests, just like at the end of a musical performance, the soul could vanish without coming apart.

Immortality vs. Resurrection NOTE: immortality doesn’t require that God created souls in the first place. Souls by their very nature are immortal: they preexist and will survive the body’s death. By contrast, resurrection is the belief that physical bodies are created by God and are corruptible. After a person’s death God will at some time in the future recreate his or her body in a spiritual, incorruptible form (see the apostle Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15). In the historical context of the first-century Greco-Roman world, Paul was likely arguing against something like the Socratic/Platonic position that the soul is separable from, and superior to, the body. Such a view had evidently given rise to a “spiritual elitism” among certain leading members of the Christian community in Corinth; Paul criticized such elitism in the name of the egalitarian ideals of solidarity and love.

General Observations about Paul’s View of Resurrection Jesus’ resurrection is an experiential reality for those who follow him. Jesus’ resurrection is the “first fruits” of the general resurrection. The general resurrection has not yet happened but is going to occur in the near future. The resurrected body is not “physical” but “spiritual.” Resurrection is less a description about what will happen than an imperative to live in the world differently—it is as much about “life before death” as it is about “life after death.”

Possible Evidence for an Afterlife Near-death experience Reincarnation Psychic communication with the dead

Objections to Near-Death Experiences Influence of drugs Oxygen deprivation Commonplace dreaming and hallucinating Re-enactment of birth trauma Can be simulated technologically

Objections to Reincarnation Why aren’t babies born with adult personalities? Where did all the new souls come from?

Objections to Psychic Communication with the Dead Fraud From “cold” to “hot” readings Communication is trivial Ordinary human imagination and reason are more impressive than the “special powers” that psychics claim to have

David Hume’s Argument against Miracles “When anyone tells me that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately consider with myself whether it be more probable that this person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact which he relates should really have happened.... If the falsehood of his testimony would be more miraculous than the event which he relates, then, and only then, can he pretend to command my belief and opinion.” (From “An Essay on Miracles” [1748].)