Do We Survive Death (A tad late).

The question of “Do we survive death?” is one that envelops many smaller issues such as soul, body, and mind theory and the problem of personal identity. According to The Personal Identity Game, the definition of “you” is either entirely connected the survival of the body, the preservation of one’s memories and thoughts, or the existence of the soul. The problem with this game is that it does not allow combinations of the three aspects that could hold personal identity: mind, body, or soul. In fact, the definition of a person lies in all three features of a person. This issue is similar to a musician and his instrument. Although the music clearly comes from the instrument, the instrument itself cannot make music without a musician. Likewise, the musician cannot make the same music without the instrument. In this way, the body and mind are dependent on the soul to survive, but the soul is also dependent on the body and mind to be instruments in this world. All three are distinct yet connected and dependent.

According to the Bundle Theory, “you consist simply of your body together with [a] collection of mental items” [1]. David Hume, an advocate for the Bundle Theory, wrote that he could never define himself as something outside of his body and mind [1]. The issue with these two statements is that a person is more than the sum of its parts. Someone without a certain body part is still the same person. Likewise, a patient suffering from dementia or mind loss is still the same person as before. It would be absurd to think that the loss of memory and appendages changed the identity of a human being. Therefore there must be something else. There must be something that makes “you” who “you” are, that is not just a body and a mind. The theory of the soul provides reasonable response to that issue. The soul continues over time, and it is connected yet distinct from the mind and body. However, the survival of the soul in the world depends on the survival of the mind and body. When a person’s body and mind die, the soul also discontinues to exist in the world. Socrates defined death as “the separation of the body from the spirit” [2]. When death happens, the soul can no longer “live” in this world. Just as a car does not work without an operator controlling it, the body and mind do not work without the soul. However, the driver cannot drive without the car, and the soul cannot exist without the body and mind. The mind, body, and soul are all separate aspects of a human being, yet each is sustained by the others.

Many movies, such as City of Angels and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows give light to soul theory. In Harry Potter, for example, Harry’s body is killed by Lord Voldemort. Harry’s soul, however, continues to live in some other place that is not the world his body was in. Once Harry’s body and mind are brought back to life, his soul is able to return to the world. In the beginning scene of City of Angels, the little girl’s body dies, and she is told to follow Seth (Nicholas Cage) back “home” or away from the world. Her soul could no longer live on earth because her body had died.

[1]: Rachels, James, Stuart Rachels. Problems from Philosophy 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

[2]: “Socrates and the Human Soul.” Christian Neuroscience Society. 13 August 2009. <http://cneuroscience.org/articles/socrates-human-soul>. Web.