Philosophical Reflection on Life

Topic 2 Philosophical Reflection on Life Intended Learning Outcomes By the end of this topic, the learner should be able to: Assess what is life and different forms of life; Compare and contrast the different forms of life; Differentiate living from non-living beings; Expla...

Topic 2 Philosophical Reflection on Life Intended Learning Outcomes By the end of this topic, the learner should be able to: Assess what is life and different forms of life; Compare and contrast the different forms of life; Differentiate living from non-living beings; Explain concepts such as irritability, immanence and adaptation in relation to life. Define metaphysical concepts from Aristotle and Aquinas Definition of life (Merriam-webster.com) 1 a : the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b : a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c : an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism , growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction 2 a : the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual (e.g. children … are the joy of our lives) b : one or more aspects of the process of living (e.g. sex life of the frog) 3 : A biography (e.g. the life of George Washington) 4 : spiritual existence transcending physical death (e.g. His craving … for the release into the life to come) 5 a : the period from birth to death b : a specific phase of earthly existence adult life c : the period from an event until death a judge appointed for life d : a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life Definitions of Life (Dictionary.com) 1. The condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. 2. The sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, especially metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment. 3. The animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual. (e.g. to risk one's life; a short life and a merry one.) 4. A corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul. (e.g. eternal life.) 5. The general or universal condition of human existence. (e.g. Too bad, but life is like that.) Definitions contd. From Wikipedia,  Living organisms maintain homeostasis, are composed of cells, undergo metabolism, can grow, adapt to their environment, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. From Philosophynow.org,  Life is the aspect of existence that processes, acts, reacts, evaluates, and evolves through growth (reproduction and metabolism). The crucial difference between life and non-life (or non- living things) is that life uses energy for physical and conscious development. Life is anything that grows and eventually dies, i.e., ceases to proliferate and be cognizant. Working definitions of Life Life denotes, a) an abstract term for vital (or immanent) activities; b) the nature or essence of a being which has vital activity on the vegetative level; c) the mode of being proportioned to a living nature, at various levels (vegetative, sensitive, intellective, etc.) Main Approaches to the idea of Life  Vitalism  Materialism  Hylomorphism Vitalism Vitalism is a view that “living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things”. [Bechtel & Robert (1998)] In its simplest form, vitalism holds that living entities contain some fluid, or a distinctive ‘spirit’. In more sophisticated forms, the vital spirit becomes a substance infusing bodies and giving life to them; or vitalism becomes the view that there is a distinctive organization among living things. Where vitalism explicitly invokes a vital principle, that element is often referred to as the "vital spark", "energy" or "élan vital", which some equate with the soul. Materialists approach to life Materialism contd. Some of the earliest theories of life were materialist, holding that all that exists is matter, and that life is merely a complex form or arrangement of matter. Empedocles (430 BC) argued that every thing in the universe is made up of a combination of four eternal "elements" or "roots of all": earth, water, air, and fire. All change is explained by the arrangement and rearrangement of these four elements. The various forms of life are caused by an appropriate mixture of elements. Hylomorphism Hylomorphism is a theory, originating with Aristotle (384 - 322 BC), that all things are a combination of matter and form. He argues that form is what unifies some matter into a single object (i.e. the form individuates matter). He treats soul and body as a special case of form and matter Matter and form account for the substantial change. [This type of change will be discussed later] Differentiate Living Vs. Non-living beings Assume that you are walking through a forest and you happen to stop between two ponds. One on your right and the other on your left. One pond has worms and the other has radio-active materials. You throw to each pond a bit of salt and there is a lot of activity in the two ponds. You know worms are living things and radio active materials are non living beings. What is the difference between warms and radio-active materials activity? Worms activity Radio Active materials activity  Self preservation of life  Self destruction  Irritability  Proportionality of action  Adaptation  _______________  Immanence  _____________ What is the difference between worms and radio-active materials activity?  Irritability Is that aspect of vital activity which consists in disproportion between the exterior stimulus and the reaction of the living being, and the finality of that reaction towards the proper good of the organism itself. What is a vital action then? Vital action is the activity by which a living thing perfects itself.  Adaptation A process by which an animal or plant species becomes fitted to its environment; mostly, it is the result of natural selection’s acting upon heritable variation. Differences… contd.  Immanence Immanent action is a kind of action or operation which remains within the agent performing it and thus perfects the agent. (e.g. when the animal grows, growth brings transformation within the animal itself ). Immanence is a vital action/activity.  Transience Transient action is an action that crosses over to exterior matter, working there its effect and thus perfecting the patient. This action (in the line of efficient causality), perfects a patient distinct from the agent.  To “live” does not denote a transient action, but an immanent action, action remaining within and perfecting the agent organism. Levels of life and Beings Intellective Life (Human beings) Sensitive Life (Animals) Vegetative Life (Plants) Vegetative Life (plants) Etymology Vegetative comes from the word Vegetare (Latin) which means to enliven. The vegetative soul is characterized by:  Nutrition  Growth  Reproduction Vegetative life contd. Nutrition Nutrition is the activity by which a material living being maintains itself in good working order and replaces matter or energy which was lost through action or injury or other metabolic activities. Growth Growth is the activity by which a living being brings itself to its mature development. Reproduction Reproduction is the activity by which a living being perfects its self (or a part of itself ) so that it can become the principle of a new being in the same species Sensitive Life (animals) Etymology: The word Animal comes from the Latin word Anima, which means soul. Animal life is also called sensitive or percipient life. Animals have senses, plants do not. The senses can be internal and external. The percipient grasps four types of stimuli, present, distant, past and future. The sensitive life is characterized by:  Nutrition; Growth; Reproduction  Sensation: stimulus -> senses (external and internal) -> automated / instinctive response Intellective Life (human beings) Intellectual life is characterized by:  Nutrition; Growth; Reproduction  Sensation: stimulus -> external and internal senses -> response  Intellect and will: capacity to know and choose goals using appropriate means; capacity to seek truth and pursue the good regardless of the prevailing circumstances. By means of his intellectual knowledge and free will, the human person influences the direction of his own life. Characteristics of Living Beings Self-movement: capacity of the being to move itself Unity: all parts intrinsically united to keep the being alive Immanence: capacity for actions that stay within and perfects the being from within Self-fulfilment: physical growth + personal development Rhythm: regular cycles in life Man as a Living Being The intellectual principle in man  Instinct is replaced by learning: we don’t live as animals do [automatic, innate tendencies that are carried out via stimulus-response]  We have to learn to walk, talk, dress ourselves, work, etc.  We are complex beings who can succeed and fail in our activities and in our lives as a whole  Intellect and will: make us ‘lords’ of our lives  We can know the world around us, the available options and make choices  Intellectual reasoning and choosing is part of our nature, as natural to us as our lungs or our nervous system  Intellect and will intertwine with our instincts, natural inclinations ◦ We think about how to survive, what and when to eat Reason over Instinct If a person does not control his instincts by the use of his reason, he ends up not only not controlling his instincts but also himself as well. And when he does not control his instincts by the use of reason, he does harm to himself. If instincts are not controlled, they become disorderly and unreasonable. This phenomenon does not happen in the case of animals. When a person is not rational or reasonable, he is worse than the animals. His instincts become a predominant force in him, overpowering his other faculties. The human body  In the human body, biology is at the service of the intellectual functions.  There is a correspondence between the intelligence and the morphology of the human body [multi- purpose: many different uses]  Hands: humanise the world; express meaning;  Face: expressive  Posture: hands are free  Speech: articulated with complex organs to pronounce words with meaning  Eyes: look ahead to see and relate to the world  All the elements of the body are functionally inter- related and assist the intellect and will The human soul  Aristotle: the soul is the life-giving principle; it makes living beings be alive, exist and become what they can become by their nature  The soul is the ‘form’ of a living being [human person]: It determines and organizes the matter to be this specific body  The soul is not a pre-existent being or entity. It comes into being together with the body  Deep unity of body and soul is evident in the person: physical well-being gives happiness  Faculties of the human soul: intellect [for intellectual knowledge] and will [to want, love, etc.]  Some Metaphysical Concepts (from Aristotle and Aquinas) Matter and Form (Hylomorphism) Four Causes  Material Cause  Formal Cause  Efficient Cause  Final Cause Substance Vs. Accident [Aristotle’s categories: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, situation, condition, action, and passion]. Substantial change Vs. Accidental Change. Substantial Unity Vs. Accidental Unity. Substance Vs. Accidents Substance A thing whose essence is to be in itself and not in another. It can stand on its own. Accident A thing whose essence is to be in another and not in itself. e.g. quality, quantity, position, posture, …  Change Substantial change A primary or essential change. A Change that changes the substance into another substance. E.g. from wood to ashes Accidental change A change that involves the only the accidents and not the substance, i.e. the nine accidents of Aristotle without changing the substance. E.g. change of color, size, etc. Which of the following are substances and which are accidents? Give reasons. Shirt Large Stone Full Student White Teacher Good Beautiful Child Philosopher Businessman/lady Are YOU a substance or an accident? Which are substantial changes and which constitute accidental changes? Give reasons Wood into ashes Kilometers into meters Adding food-color to make juice attractive Bleaching a dress Evaporation Reddening of the fruit on ripening Evolution of men from apes Losing weight Increase in height (becoming taller) Losing ones mind (becoming a lunatic) Cremation Concluding remarks Life is manifested in various forms and levels The capacity to perform some vital functions characterize living beings of different levels Various levels and forms of life have varying degrees of capacities and tendencies The principle of life is present in vegetative, sensitive and intellective (human) levels of being The human life has the highest (comparatively) capacities of performing various acts. The human person’s life is unique and above all other lower levels due to the soul and its faculties (the intellect and the will)