The Mind vs Brain

[JimG]

“365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.”

Yes, the Catechism quote accurately describes the unity of body and soul.

Rather than speak of the intellect as the animating force of the “lump of tissue” which is the brain, it is more accurate to say that the soul is the animating force of the entire body. The brain is the integrating organ of the sensory system, so yes it is used by the intellect, a faculty of the soul, in perceiving reality in a human way.

I wouldn’t say that Catholic philosophy is a form of scriptural exegesis. They are distinct disciplines, although they may certainly make reference to each other.

 

[Michael19682]

“365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.”

Yes, the Catechism quote accurately describes the unity of body and soul.

Rather than speak of the intellect as the animating force of the “lump of tissue” which is the brain, it is more accurate to say that the soul is the animating force of the entire body. The brain is the integrating organ of the sensory system, so yes it is used by the intellect, a faculty of the soul, in perceiving reality in a human way.

I wouldn’t say that Catholic philosophy is a form of scriptural exegesis. They are distinct disciplines, although they may certainly make reference to each other.

The quote you give is the quote I referenced also; one phrase I’m afraid is not an accurate description completely. My personal feeling is that the “fleshing out” [of the so profound as to considered] is left open for discussion and experience, like the death experience or dissolution of the body and final loss of earthly consciousness. Words like “to consider” and “because of” typically clue one into this type of expository. They appear specifically and purposefully inexact and sketchy. The scriptural passages I quoted earlier from Cor and Rom I believe are give a better sense of what the Catechism is pointing to; after all, who has revelation of their own death and can tell of this? In that all philosophy is derived from scripture or at the very least seeks to resolve and prove the concerns of scripture, it is most certainly a form of the former’s exegesis.

In my opinion, the word ‘form’ is in double quotes in the paragraph 365 because it is so contentious a term. Do you say the Catechism is using the term in the sense of Plato in “The Republic,” uses the notion of particulars and forms?

wikipedia the free open encyclopedia:
Forms are mind independent abstract objects or paradigms (παραδείγματα: patterns in nature) of which particular objects and the properties and relations present in them are copies. Form is inherent in the particulars and these are said to participate in the form