NEB Grade-11 (English) Unit: 16 Critical Thinking (What Is the Soul?- by Bertrand Russell)

Unit: 16 Critical Thinking (What Is the Soul?- by Bertrand Russell) 

Unit 16

Critical Thinking 

What Is the Soul?- by Bertrand Russell

Before you read

a. Which one do you think is primary: body or soul? Why?

    I think primary is our soul though there is close connection between the soul and the     body because of following reasons:

Ø The body has value until and unless it has soul and as it passes out from the body, it becomes valueless.
Ø Having a non-physical soul distinguishes humans from nonhuman animals and gives human beings a special value.
Ø Having a non-physical soul makes it possible for humans to have a relationship with God, who is a non-physical being.

b. “A circle has no beginning”? Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Explain. 

Obviously, a circle has no beginning and no end and is therefore a symbol of infinity. It is endless, eternal, just the way love should be.

God was created by man out of circular reasoning. Hence, god also has no beginning and no end. That which does not exist has no beginning and no end like the God.

 

What is the Soul?-Main Points

• Bertrand Russell’s  essay, “What is the Soul?”, reasons: “Mind(or soul) and matter were something like the lion and the unicorn (गेंडा-a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.) fighting for the crown; the end of the battle is not the victory of one or the other, but the discovery that both are only heraldic inventions.” ( distinctive species)                                                                                                                                                                                                     
• British empiricist David Hume, after analyzing the mind through introspection came to the conclusion that no particular soul entity exists and that the mind is merely the sum total of its states. Apparently influenced by Hume, some psychologists later asserted that the mind as a thing does not exist. The psychologists also said that there is no such thing as mind means  there is no existence of mind.

•  He differentiates between the body and the time saying that the body is in time and space, but the soul is in time only. Furthermore, he said that Mind and body are related to each other through neutral pathways like neurotransmitters, hormones and chemical which transmit signals between the body and the mind to control everyday functions. Thus, they are related in a convenient concept of transmitting events.

• Russell associates the mind with the brain saying the mind as  the set of faculties including cognitive aspects such as consciousness, imagination and its most essential characteristic is memory which is  clearly connected with a certain kind of brain structure, and since this structure decays at death, it is certain that memory also must cease. He also said that both mind and matter are merely convenient ways of organizing events. There can be no reason for supposing that either a piece of mind or a piece of matter is immortal.

• There is no reason to think that except on the earth's surface anything happens because somebody wishes it to happen since our power on the earth's surface is entirely dependent upon the sun as the Sun warms our seas, stairs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for the life on Earth. And since our power on the earth's surface is entirely dependent upon the sun., Thus, without the Sun's heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock.

                     

Across/ Down

1.     unquestionable, impossible to doubt (Down) –indubitable

2.     never done or known before (Down) –unprecedented

3.     emergence or origination (Across) – emanation

4.     obviously or clearly (Down) – evidently

5.     impossible to achieve or overcome (Across) – insuperable

6.     moved with a violent, irregular action (Down) – agitated

7.     appropriate or suitable (Across) – apt

8.     force back (Across) – repel

9.     conservative (Down) – orthodox

10.  up to now (Across) – hitherto

 

B.   Find the words from the text that mean the following.

a.      misleading or illusionary (d…………)        - deceptive

b.     in a natural state; not yet processed or refined (c………….)    - crude

c.      a mystical horse like animal with a single straight horn projecting from its forehead (u………)             - unicorn

d.     never dying or decaying ( i……….)           - immortal

e.      come to an end; stop (c………..)                - cease

f.       to activate or put into motion (a…………)          - actuate

 

Comprehension

Answer these questions.

a. What’s the difference between the body and the soul?

The difference between the body and the time is that the body is in time and space, but the soul is in time only.

b. What do you understand by the psychologists’ saying that there is no such thing as mind?

The psychologists’ saying that there is no such thing as mind means  there is no existence of mind.

c.  How can a mental activity be reduced to a physical activity?

A mental activity can be reduced to a physical activity with a certain degree of  one’s success as per to the modern materialist.

 

d. How are mind and body related?

Mind and body are related to each other through neutral pathways like neurotransmitters, hormones and chemical which transmit signals between the body and the mind to control everyday functions. Thus, they are related in a convenient concept of transmitting events.            

e. What is the relation between mind and memory? Does memory survive a person's death?

The mind is the set of faculties including cognitive aspects such as consciousness, imagination and its most essential characteristic is memory which is  clearly connected with a certain kind of brain structure, and since this structure decays at death, it is certain that memory also must cease.

f.   How is our power on the earth's surface entirely dependent upon the sun?

Our power on the earth's surface is entirely dependent upon the sun as the Sun warms our seas, stairs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for the life on Earth.  

Thus, without the Sun's heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock.

 

Critical thinking

a.      Do you believe that soul really exists? Write your arguments in support of your answer.

Ø The belief that souls exist and humans have them known as “Soul Hypothesis” is a common question among the general population. Although religions go on and on about its existence, how do we know if souls really exist?

Ø The idea of the soul is bound up with the idea of a future life and our belief in a continued existence after death. It's said to be the ultimate animating principle by which we think and feel, but isn't dependent on the body.

Ø Of course, most spiritual people view the soul as emphatically more definitive than the scientific concept. It's considered the incorporeal essence of a person, and is said to be immortal and transcendent of material existence.

b.     If you want to change your body, you first have to change your mind. Discuss.

•       IF you want to change your body, start with the mind. The first step to any change in life starts with our mindset.

• But it’s hard because you need to have a good training and nutrition plan that you’re consistent with. And you need to be patient. Otherwise, you wont be able to change your mind.
• If you can wrap your mind around the fact then you will be able to get the key of success and enhance your body set as well. You must forget about diet and exercise strategies just for a few minutes and focus on getting your mind right. Because the best way to improve your health is to improve your mind. Having a positive mindset changes one’s both mental as well as physical activities.

But it’s hard because you need to have a good training and nutrition plan that you’re consistent with. And you need to be patient. Otherwise, you wont be able to change your mind.

If you can wrap your mind around the fact then you will be able to get the key of success and enhance your body set as well. You must forget about diet and exercise strategies just for a few minutes and focus on getting your mind right. Because the best way to improve your health is to improve your mind. Having a positive mindset changes one’s both mental as well as physical activities.

You should to believe in yourself, focus on YOU, have obsessions and put in a conscious effort to have respect and kindness for yourself no matter how much you weigh. If you can’t do this, nothing will change.

 

Writing

Write critically on the given topics.      

a. The existence of God

§  The existence of God has been in question for as long as mankind has existed and thought logically. Many questions have plagued the human mind in regards to God, the supreme being  and almighty one.

§  Anselm defines God as “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived”  It means God as a perfect being, and if someone understands the concept of God, then God exists in that person’s understanding. It is greater to exist in reality than just simply the understanding.

§  The God, who keeps everything in perfect order, makes the sun rise and set. With the passage of time, there also have been scriptures appearing that support the existence of God. Stories, events and many supernatural occurrences that is beyond human’s intellect. The Myths of Fire, Water, Earth and Air were famous for their supernatural existence in the Roman Era. Before the Ancient Greek religion turned into mythology, existence of God was well practiced by the Greek people. Homer, a famous Greek writer, writes in the ‘Odyssey’ about how if man does not follow the God and believe in them, then man will fall and be doomed.

§  God’s existence may actually depend upon our belief in his existence but it is more plausible to believe that God exists using the different sorts of beliefs. Thus. we should believe in God and that it is indeed reasonable.

 

b.     Religion influences ethics and morality

•      Religion is “a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs, and practice that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity, or ultimate truth” (Geertz, 1982).

•      On the other hand, Morality is the belief concerning what is moral and what is immoral created from society, philosophy, religion and conscience. It is equal somehow to ethics in which ethics is the study of morality and morality deals with values which are studied by ethics. For instance, if you don’t steal, therefore, this is moral or ethical action (the same) or we can say you are morally or ethically right.

•      Many religions and religious scholars  discuss about the strong relationship between religion and morality. Some of them said that the religion including Allah’s books (Quran), every action are directed by religion and if there are some actions which are new, we can do a Measurement between those in the religious books and the new ones. For instance, cheating is prohibited in Islam according to what prophet Mohammad said “the one who cheated is not from us”.  And after all, Muslims found that the drugs are as same as wine, which is prohibited and mentioned in Quran, because of its bad effects on humankind, so the drugs are prohibited and it is immoral to take it.

•       In other words, morality here is not directed by religion, but the religion is a part of morality and we can say here that if you do something religiously or not, it is moral either way. Thus, we can state that morality can act without religion.

 

Grammar : Used to

A.   Notice the use of used to in the following text.

I was a young girl in the 1960s. My friends and I used to do a lot of things which shocked our parents. We used to do things our mothers never did. We used to cut our hair, we used to wear short skirts. We used to sing songs but did not use to dance.

v if sentence is positive : v2 →used to+ infinitive (v1)        

v if sentence is negative : didn’t use to + infinitive (v1) –after subject

v  if sentence is into wh-question : Did + Sub+ use to + infinitive (v1) - after subject

Used to- a repeated action or habit that was common in the PAST but not any more  at the time.                For instance,  He used to go to school.

 

A.   Rewrite the following sentences using ‘used to’. You can make an affirmative/ negative statement or a question.

a.  I/live in a flat when I was a child. -I used to live in a flat when I was a child.

b. She/love eating chocolate but now she hates it. -She used to love eating chocolate but now she hates it.

c. He/go to fishing in the summer? -Did he use to go fishing in the summer?

d. My sister/play tennis when she was at school. -My sister used to play tennis when she was at school.

e.   He/play football every weekend? -Did he use to play football every weekend.

f.  My grandfather/speak five languages. -My grandfather used to speak five languages.

g. I/not hate school from the beginning. -I did not use to hate school from the beginning.

h. You/live in Kathmandu? -Did you use to live in Kathmandu.

i.   He/play Dandibiyo when he was a small child. -He used to play Dandibiyo when he was a small child.

j.  She/wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears jeans. -She used to wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears jeans.

 

Is the Soul Immortal? - By Swami Vivekananda

·        This article was originally published in the New York Morning Advertiser. It is taken from The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.

•      “None has power to destroy the unchangeable.” — Bhagavad-Gitâ.

•  In the great Sanskrit epic, the Mahâbhârata, the story is told how the hero, Yudhishthira, when asked by Dharma to tell what was the most wonderful thing in the world, replied, that it was the persistent belief of man kind in their own deathlessness in spite of their witnessing death everywhere around them almost every moment of their lives.  Mahabharata points out as the inability of our mind to conceive our own annihilation. Although it is perfectly true that when the human mind transcends its own limitations, it finds the duality reduced to an indivisible unity.

•      There is one more wonderful phenomenon connected with our lives, without which “who will be able to live, who will be able to enjoy life a moment?” — the idea of freedom.

•      But it is not the body; neither is it the mind. The body is dying every minute. The mind is constantly changing. The body is a combination, and so is the mind, and as such can never reach to a state beyond all change.

•      Freedom is only possible when no external power can exert any influence, produce any change. Freedom is only possible to the being who is beyond all conditions, all laws, all bondages of cause and effect. In other words, the unchangeable alone can be free and, therefore, immortal.
•      “Without birth or death, eternal, ever-existing is this soul of man.” 

Any  queries...?