Philosophy of religion: Self, death and the afterlife — AQA A-Level Religious Studies
Philosophy of religion: Self, death and the afterlife explained
Philosophy of religion: Self, death and the afterlife covers 3 specification points, including The nature and existence of the soul;… and The body/soul relationship..
Read the full explanation
Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
The nature and existence of the soul; Descartes' argument for the existence of the soul.
This topic asks what the soul is taken to be and whether it exists. Substance dualism treats the soul as a non-physical entity distinct from the body, while monist views deny any separate soul. Descartes argues from the fact that he can doubt the existence of his body but cannot doubt that he is thinking: the 'I' that thinks must be a thinking substance, and he identifies this with the soul. The argument moves from indubitable self-awareness to a real distinction between mind and body. Learners should be able to state the steps of the argument, explain what 'substance' means here, and evaluate whether doubt about the body really proves a separate soul.
The body/soul relationship.
This topic examines how the body and soul are related. Dualism holds that the soul is a non-physical substance distinct from the body, raising the question of how two different kinds of thing interact. Monism denies a separate soul, treating the person as wholly physical or wholly mental. Learners should compare interactionist dualism, which says mind and body causally affect each other, with views that deny real interaction, and consider the problem of how an immaterial soul could move a physical body. They should also connect the relationship to claims about personal identity and survival of death, since a soul separable from the body supports continued existence after bodily death.
The possibility of continuing personal existence after death.
This topic asks whether a person can survive bodily death as the same person. The key idea is personal identity: what makes you you. If identity depends on the physical body or the brain, then bodily death seems to end the person, so continued existence looks impossible. If identity depends on an immaterial soul, or on a pattern of mental life that God could recreate, then survival seems possible. Candidates should be able to explain both the possibility and the difficulty, using ideas such as dualism, resurrection of the body and the memory or continuity needed for the same person to exist again. A concrete example helps: a person who loses all memories is often said to have changed, which shows why continuity matters.
Your focus
- State what substance dualism claims about the soul.
- Outline the steps of Descartes' argument for the soul.
- Evaluate whether doubt about the body proves a separate soul.
Show all 9 objectives
- Explain how dualism and monism differ on the body/soul relationship.
- Describe the interaction problem facing dualism.
- Relate the body/soul relationship to personal identity and survival of death.
- Explain what is meant by continuing personal existence after death
- Compare a view that supports survival with a view that makes it difficult
- Apply a criterion of personal identity to a claimed case of survival
Philosophy of religion: Self, death and the afterlife exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies the soul in substance dualism as a non-physical entity distinct from the body.
- States that Descartes argues from indubitable thinking to a thinking substance he calls the soul.
- Explains that the body can be doubted while the thinking self cannot, which grounds the distinction.
- Distinguishes Descartes' dualist conclusion from monist denials of a separate soul.
- Evaluates whether the ability to doubt the body establishes a genuinely separate substance.
- Explains that dualism treats body and soul as distinct substances that must somehow relate.
- Describes interactionist dualism as the claim that mind and body causally affect each other.
- Identifies the interaction problem: how an immaterial soul affects a physical body.
- Contrasts dualist accounts with monist views that deny a separate soul.
- Links the body/soul relationship to personal identity and survival of death.
- Identifies personal identity as the central issue in whether a person can continue after death
- Explains how a physicalist view of the person makes continued personal existence after death difficult
- Explains how belief in an immaterial soul supports the possibility of survival after bodily death
- Uses the idea of continuity, such as memory or character, to test whether a surviving being is the same person
- Applies a view such as resurrection of the body to show how God could restore the same person
Examiner Tips
- 💡Learn the argument as a short chain: doubt, thinking, thinking substance, soul.
- 💡Use the word 'substance' precisely and explain what it means in dualism.
- 💡Prepare one evaluation point about whether doubt proves a separate entity.
- 💡Define dualism and monism before comparing them.
- 💡State the interaction problem clearly as a challenge to dualism.
- 💡Use one example of how mind and body seem to affect each other.
- 💡Define personal identity early so the rest of the answer has a clear standard to test survival against
- 💡Contrast at least one view that makes survival possible with one that makes it difficult
- 💡Use a short example, such as loss of memory, to show why continuity matters for sameness of person
Common Mistakes
- Treats the soul as a physical organ inside the body; correct this by explaining that dualism treats the soul as non-physical.
- Claims Descartes proves the soul is immortal from doubt alone; correct this by noting the argument establishes a thinking substance, not survival of death.
- Confuses doubting the body with doubting everything; correct this by stressing that the thinking self remains certain while thinking.
- Assumes dualism automatically explains interaction; correct this by raising the interaction problem explicitly.
- Treats monism as identical to materialism only; correct this by noting monism can also be idealist.
- Ignores the link to survival of death; correct this by connecting a separable soul to continued existence.
- Treats survival of any kind, such as a legacy or other people's memories, as continuing personal existence; distinguish the person surviving from things surviving about the person
- Assumes the soul automatically guarantees the same person survives; explain what continuity of identity would require
- Confuses the question of whether survival is possible with the question of whether it is desirable; keep the answer on possibility and identity