Neutral Monism
11/01/14 07:49 Filed in: Theology | Philosophy
Neutral monism are theories that hold that mind and body are not separate, distinct substances but are composed of the same sort of neutral 'stuff' (EB, 2013).
The neutral substance Spinoza refers to is God. Because of the limitations of human beings we can perceive the neutral substance only in terms of its material or mental attributes, but the neutral substance has an infinity of attributes, and that is why, he identifies it with God. It is this one infinite divine substance in which everything else has its finite being as a mode or affect.
The neutral substance Spinoza refers to is God. Because of the limitations of human beings we can perceive the neutral substance only in terms of its material or mental attributes, but the neutral substance has an infinity of attributes, and that is why, he identifies it with God. It is this one infinite divine substance in which everything else has its finite being as a mode or affect.
Bertrand Russell called the neutral entities 'sensibilia' and argued that mind and mater are 'logical constructions' (EB, 2013). Everything can be perceived in these two aspects: material and mental. Nothing is merely physical or merely mental, but it has these two aspects. The bare minimum that must be supposed to exist does not include many of the things that 'common sense' is inclined to say exist (Moore, 2011, 218). What we truly know are the data of immediate experience. That is why, what we believe exists must be definable in terms of sense-data (Moore, 2011, 218).
Bibliography
Moore, Brooke Noel. Bruder, Kenneth. Philosophy, The Power of Ideas. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011.
"neutral monism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
"pluralism and monism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
"Russell, Bertrand ." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
Bibliography
Moore, Brooke Noel. Bruder, Kenneth. Philosophy, The Power of Ideas. 8th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011.
"neutral monism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
"pluralism and monism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
"Russell, Bertrand ." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013.
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