ABSTRACT.
Most philosophers in history going back to the time of Descartes and Plato affirmed that the soul exists and that it is immortal, continuing on in some form after the body days. All the major religions of the world have always taught that the individual personality, mind and memory survive in some form after death, either to be born again in some other body or to move on to some future reward and punishment. Gilbert Ryle denounced this ‘ghost in the machine’ idea, stating that he mind and the body are all part of one system and that they are all material or physical substances. Even those who doubt that the soul exists in the sense that philosophers and theologians have taught are forced to admit that these internal states of thoughts, feelings and perceptions are difficult to observe or explain in purely materialist or scientific terms.
If the physicalists and materialists are correct then it really means that when the body and brain die, that is the end. There is no more existence after that, no survival after death, and many people are displeased with this idea for obvious reasons. Life is this world is very short and invariably ends in mental and physical decay, so the natural desire is that something more would survive after all this. There is also the problem of being unable to describe what the soul is because it cannot be sensed or observed in physical terms, which leads materialists to deny its existence. Science can describe how the brain and nervous system function, however, and even detect certain mental processes as they occur by using the most advanced technology of the type that was not available to Descartes or even Gilbert Ryle. Thinking, feeling, wishing and remembering are indeed occurring on some physical level within the brain, and science knows more about these processes than ever before. Over the last 100-200 years, modern science has been tending toward the physicalist explanation of the mind and brain being synonymous while ruling out the existence of the soul, and this does indeed undermine the meaning of life for many people, especially those with strong religious views.
Rene Descartes was writing in the 17th Century, during the era of the Inquisition and religious wars, so naturally he had to agree that God and the soul existed, and that what the churches said about these matters was scientifically true. Not to have done so would have been dangerous in those times, but there is no reason to suppose that he even doubted the existence of god and the immortal soul. In that era, the state and the church had very real, physical punishments for those who expressed any doubts on these matters, but by modern standards forcing people to follow certain religious beliefs against their wills is a violation of basic human rights. With very few exceptions, though, most people at the time simply accepted that as the truth because they had no better information, just as most people in the world still do today. From this they assume that God is also keeping track of their actions and that there will be consequences in the afterlife for any evil that they have done. Obviously this has not prevented human beings from committing evil, but it also acts as a deterrent or a restraining force. If they cannot find it within themselves to lead good lives then they will at least fear being punished or anticipate future rewards.
Gilbert Ryle said quite plainly in 1949 that according to modern science, there is no ‘ghost in the machine’, to use his famous phrase. There is no soul in control of the brain, operating the physical body like some kind of machine, and that probably means that no God or Designer exists either. Rather the brain and the body were part of the same system, and the former was the control center. Ryle did not have the ability to actually study mental processes directly at that time like they do with various machines and scanners today, and he regarded the human mind as a very special organ, maybe even unique, but it was still physical.
Thomas Nagel approached the problem from a different angle, and speculated what the internal mental state would be if a person had the brain and sensory apparatus of a bat or perhaps some intelligent alien being on another planet. His conclusion was that it would be extremely difficult to know this, perhaps not even in a very general way, which shows how elusive any understanding of the mind or consciousness really is. Someone might be able to imagine what the thoughts, feelings and desires of these different creatures were, but they could never know—not unless they actually experienced their reality directly. Like Ryle, though, he thought that brain, mind and body were all part of the same physical system, even though its internal states were difficult to explain or comprehend.
Nagel is interesting because he was one of the first academics to seriously consider the possibility that these other life forms did exist somewhere in the universe, and that they very likely would be very different in mind and body from human beings, if indeed they had minds and bodies at all as those terms are commonly understood. Trying to understand the meaning of mind and consciousness from beings very different from humanity is a useful exercise and requires a great leap of the imagination. In the long run, if the traditional theological and religious views about the eternal soul continue to be undermined by modern science, human beings might find meaning in exploring the galaxy and encountering alien civilizations very different from anything that has ever existed on earth. Indeed, science and technology will probably continue to expand consciousness in many ways that cannot even be imagined today, along with the ordinary human lifespan. They may even create conscious, intelligent machines or androids that can life forever. All of this will create new possibilities and meanings for life that will be expanded greatly from present-day understanding, and will certainly be very different from the traditional religions that knew nothing about any life forms or civilizations outside of this world. In the meantime, however, life will still be quite difficult to those who still wish to follow the more traditional religions and their concepts about immortal, nonmaterial soul that goes on forever on some plane of existence.
