“ta meta ta physika biblia” Literally: the books that come after the physics Today: subjects transcending, i.e., going beyond, the physical, e.g. the supernatural and mysterious

Who are we? Where did we come from? What is the reality that appears to exist around us? Is there such a thing as time or space? Does God exist? Do we really possess free will or are events pre- determined? i.e., questions beyond the natural or physical world Asking Universal Questions

Do I exist primarily in my mind? Who is the real self? What happens when we die? Plato: soul different from body, able to connect with ideas of the universe Personal Identity

Would you continue to be yourself if you didn’t possess your mind or your body? Some philosophers: Deny personal identity: it’s an illusion We may have momentary sense of self, yet there is no existence of a personal identity over time. Are you today who you were as a baby, will the idea of yourself today be the same in the future? Is there a connection between Mind and Body?

Mind & body distinctly different entities Mind non-material substance, Where real identity is found Plato 1 st to say soul separate from body The thinking part of human being Rational thought independent of body (senses, perception) Aristotle: form & substance situated firmly in objects, Experience via senses crucial Mind & body connected René Descartes

Mind & body composed of different and distinct elements Mind: Thinks Indivisible Does not extend in space Body: Divisible Extended in space Back to Descartes

Only thought inseparable from self Body has a unique union with mind, yet is not our true personal identity Where is the Real Person for Descartes?

How do mental & physical substances interact? Through the pineal gland (somehow)

Descartes’ view rejected by many who believe: Close connection mind & body Mind & body form a single identity

A fallacy? Yes for some: “I think” Confirms THOUGHT Does not support an identity thinking Another problem: Communicating an idea to another’s mind How: thought  physical substance  thought? Let’s check out “Meditations of First Philosophy” pages 312 – 313 Cogito ergo sum.

“self” not based on any one experience or impression To think of the self is to encounter particular perceptions of heat, cold, love or anger Human beings are bundles of perceptions rapidly succeeding each other David Hume: The Self is an Illusion

Recall: no tangible evidence for the table in front of you (since all we can know are a series of impressions, i.e., sensory images… we falsely believe that they make up some enduring object) Same idea for “self” we only have impressions of things in the moment  conclude a conscious continuing self Extending Hume’s view that there is no proof for the concept of a continuing external world

Sproule, pages Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature

Recall the Eastern cycle of death/rebirth The goal of humans: freedom from cycle of reincarnation Everything in life is changing “bardo” actual moments of change the only real state: EVERYTHING IS IMPERMANENT Eastern View of Personal Identity