Netherlands VWO 4 (bovenbouw, 2e fase) Philosophy

1. Skills

Argumentation and research skills

Coming soon

2. Philosophical anthropology

Key concepts and main views on the human being · Person, body, mind and emotion · The human as a rational being

• Philosophical Anthropology: What Is a Human Being? – Philosophical anthropology asks what a human being is. The human is both the one who asks and the one studied (subject and object). Thinkers compare us with animals: some see a deep gap (reason, language, an open world), others only a difference of degree. Classic views call the human a rational animal, a union of body and mind (dualism) or one living being (monism), a social and cultural being, and, for existentialists, a free and unfinished being who makes itself through choices. Science and technology (evolution, brain research, AI) keep reopening the question.
• Philosophy of Mind: How Are Mind and Body Linked? – Philosophy of mind asks what the mind is and how it links to the body. Dualism (Descartes) says mind and body are two different things, which raises the problem of how they interact. Physicalism says the mind is what the brain does. Consciousness is our inner experience, like a torch that lights what we attend to. The unconscious (Freud) holds wishes, memories and habits we are not aware of. Related questions: what makes me the same self over time, how emotions join body and mind, and whether machines could ever think.