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Robert A. Delfino
Christian Physicalism and Personal Identity


Abstract

The view that humans have a nonphysical soul that survives the death of the body has come under significant attack in recent centuries. This is due, primarily, to two revolutions in science. The first revolution came from Charles Darwin. His theory of evolution, though he did not use that word, raised serious questions about the origin and nature of human beings. If humans evolved from non-human animals, it would seem that the difference between humans and other animals is merely a matter of degree. In addition, if life itself emerged from non-living matter, as some scientists have hypothesized, then appealing to a nonphysical soul would seem to be superfluous. This view appears to be reinforced by the second and currently occurring revolution, which comes from neuroscience. Thanks to new discoveries about the brain, scientists seem to be able to explain more and more of the functions that were once attributed to the soul. In the wake of these developments, some Christians have advocated what can be called Christian physicalism. For example, Nancey Murphy, in her book Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies?, argues that a physicalist account of human beings is compatible with the view that humans are rational, moral, and capable of having a relationship with God. Instead of focusing on Murphy’s entire project in this paper, I have chosen to investigate the implications that her understanding of Christian physicalism has for personal identity. Ultimately, I will argue that her view can neither account for personal identity in this life nor explain how a person in the afterlife can be the same individual person who once lived on the planet earth.



Biography

Robert A. Delfino is an assistant professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he specialized in metaphysics and medieval philosophy. His current research interests include metaphysics, naturalism, the relationship between science and metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and ethics. He has published articles on Aristotle, medieval philosophy, metaphysics, personal identity, philosophy of science, human rights, and aesthetics, and he has edited three books: Plato’s Cratylus: Argument, Form, and Structure (2005), Understanding Moral Weakness (2006), and What are We to Understand Gracia to Mean?: Realist Challenges to Metaphysical Neutralism (2006). He is the editor of Studies in the History of Western Philosophy (SHWP), a special series within the Value Inquiry Book Series (VIBS), and he maintains the official webpage of the American Maritain Association. 



 

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