Explain the fundamental ideas of resurrection and immortality of the soul. (18)

The mind and body problem is the debate of whether the mind and body are the same thing or can they be separated. The criteria for self effects fundamental ideas of the afterlife. Descartes for instance believes in dualism, the concept that the body and soul are two distinctive substances. He asserts the idea that the res cogitans is thinking and unextended whereas the res extensa is unthinking and extended; therefore as he states in Mediation 6 ‘my mind (…) is entirely and truly distinct from my body and may exist without it.” This is because since the body is extended and unthinking it is divisible as if you were to remove parts of it such as an arm or destroy it, the res cogitans would remain unaffected, whereas the mind cannot be divided because it’s non-physical. This shows how the mind and body are separate and therefore how it’s possible that when the body dies the mind can live on in the afterlife and is thus immortal.

Aquinas agrees with Descartes concept of dualism; however he argues that the soul doesn’t go into the afterlife but rather it goes into a new body which becomes resurrected. For something to be immortal is cannot be broken down thus it can’t be made up of parts. If you were to break a body down you can break it down into body parts, cells and eventually nothing. However the mind cannot be broken down since its chief parts are ‘understanding and willing’ and these are only ideas; they do not exist materially and therefore cannot be divided. Consequently the mind cannot be divided and is separate. However, the soul requires the body to be able to develop, without the body it