mind and body

An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 06 – Metaphysics 3 (Metaphysical Monism) – Part 5: Want to compare scars?

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Physicalism reminds us that identity is not hidden somewhere beyond the body. It’s carried in posture, memory, habit, and scar tissue. Our experiences leave marks, shaping how we move through the world and how the world moves through us. Philosophy invites us to take the body seriously, not as a container for the self, but as the self in motion, shaped by every lived moment.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 06 – Metaphysics 3 (Metaphysical Monism) – Part 1: Introduction: If you had to choose, you would rather be without a body or a mind?

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Metaphysical monism challenges us to reconsider the split between mind and body. Rather than choosing one over the other, philosophy asks us to notice how our lives already reveal our assumptions. Do we treat the physical world as primary, or do we live as though inner experience carries greater weight? Our daily habits often disclose our metaphysical commitments more honestly than our words.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 05 – Metaphysics 2 (Metaphysical Dualism) – Part 6: Will Your AI chatbot go to heaven?

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If consciousness is not strictly tied to a human body, then it may not be exclusive to humans at all. Metaphysical dualism invites us to consider whether awareness could emerge wherever the right conditions exist, whether in animals, artificial systems, or forms of intelligence we haven’t yet imagined. Philosophy challenges us to expand our moral and imaginative horizons, asking what responsibility follows when we recognize minds beyond our own.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 05 – Metaphysics 2 (Metaphysical Dualism) – Part 4: Are you out of your mind?

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Experiences of transcendence challenge the boundaries we draw between mind and body. Whether the “bright light” is a glimpse of something beyond the physical or a creation of consciousness itself, dualism invites us to take such moments seriously without rushing to explain them away. Philosophy lives in that threshold, where mystery remains meaningful even without certainty.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 05 – Metaphysics 2 (Metaphysical Dualism) – Part 1: Introduction: Do you have ghosts?

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Metaphysical dualism asks whether there is more to us than matter alone. Is consciousness simply the brain at work, or is there an observer within us that can’t be reduced to physical parts? Philosophy invites us to sit with that question, noticing the quiet sense of “self” that watches thoughts come and go. Whether ghost or mind, something seems to be looking out from behind our eyes.

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