NATURE (of human life)

The religious and secular view on the Nature of Human Life refers to several different topics you will need to discuss, however you can be selective.

Topics to discuss in your answer

First you may want to talk about the contrasting view of Dualism which is a religious standpoint and Materialism which is a secular viewpoint. They are two main theories of human nature that have implications for meaningful survival after death, or not. These two views reflect upon the controversial issue of death and what happens when we die by referring mainly to the body and soul.

Materialism is the theory that our minds are inseperable from our bodies, whereas Dualism is the theory that there exist both bodies and minds, distinct from one another, but linked together in some way.

Materialism

 Reject the idea that there is a seperate entity from our bodies called the "soul".

• An individual is a living, physical body, and nothing more.
• At death, the body dies and therefore the whole person ceases to exist.
• Emotional responses like love, fear are no more than psycho-chemical reactions in our brain.

Soft/Hard Materialists

There are two forms of Materialism; hard & soft. "Hard" materialists reject the idea that an individual's characteristics is more than physical ones. When the body dies, then so does the brain. "Soft" materialists accept that most characteristics are physical ones apart from Consciousness. e.g. a physical symptom is caused by something that is troubling the mind.

Materialists

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