Tuesday, July 01, 2013

MBA4th QUARTER

(Summer- 2013)

MotivationAssignment No. 02

Submitted To: Dr. Abdul Basit SahibSubmitted By: Bashir Ahmad (Regd# 1432-412019

Question: what are the four dimensions of Dualism?

Answer:

Definition of Dualism:

Dualism means two aspects or two sides of something. Several philosophers and thinkers have

identified two different dimensions of human life. This is called dualism.

Or

Simplistic concept that all issues can be divided into either/or states such as good/bad, right/wrong, determinable/indeterminable. Dualism does not recognize a continuum of values (a stretch of varying shades of gray between black and white at either ends) and cannot explain complexity.

There are four dimensions of dualism

First dimension (Russell)

Bertrand Russell was renowned philosopher, mathematician and historian in the 20th century. He conjectured a view of the humans before the beginnings of civilization and attempted to determin what must have been the thoughts of human beings at that time about life and about their surroundings. Russell, thus, postulated the following:

Primitive man was aware of two distinctions:

a. Human and animals had self-induced motion, while inanimate objects did not.The primitive humans must have been strongly aware of the fact that humans and animals had the power to move around and perform activities whereas all other objects (such as rocks, trees, etc.)did not have this capability.This implied meaning is hat in case of humans and animals, the movement was a decision or a choice made by themselves. Therefore, the factors that caused a decision to move must be the ones responsible for human and animal behavior. All such factors, in our modern conceptualization, are the motivators.

b. Human were better than animals in terms of the use of tools, foresight and rudimentary moral values.

The second aspect of Russell’s concept of dualism is even more interesting. According to his view, primitive humans must have been aware of some stark distinctions between human and animals behavior. He noticed that humans must be aware of their superiority over the animals in terms of use of various types of tools. We know from scientific historical evidence that primitive humans modified or shaped stones, rocks and sticks and use them, for example, hunting tools.

Primitive humans were also aware of some basic moral values such as the legitimate ownership and possession, family relationships etc. and they were aware of the dualism that such moral values or understanding were found only in humans and not in animals.

The second dimension (Murphy)

Murphy’s work on dreams and personality development is monumental. According to Murphy’s view, dreams involve human soul being separated form the body (Dualism)

In summary, Murphy’s views are identified as follows:a. Dreams form a foundation for self-concept.b. In a dream, humans have motion and activity, while the body is immobile.c. Leads to the concept of soul and body being different(difference between animate and inanimate

bodies)d. Soul is no dependent on body.

According to Murphy, the dualism is based on the soul being different from the body. The soul is animate (capable of movement on its own) while the body is inanimate (not capable of movement without the soul being present). Murphy describes the dream being a phenomenon in which the soul leaves the body and moves around freely to have unique experiences and then returns back into the body and moves around freely to have unique experiences and then returns back into the body. Such experiences of the soul are termed as dreams, which are perceived by human beings as their “own” experiences in dreams.Thus dreams do strongly influence the determination of our behavior and are, therefore, powerfully connected to human motivation.

The third dimension (Plato):

Plato was a Greek Philosopher (three centuries BC) and his views on dualism may be summarized as

below:

1. Human beings have perceptions about things around them that are imperfect

manifestation of reality, resulting in two different “worlds”:

a. Ultimate reality

b. Perceptions

Thus, there is a real, original world around us and then there is a perceived view of this world in

our mind. Since our minds are individualized and unique, therefore, our perceptions modify the

way we perceive the world around us. Consequently, this dualism shows that there is a “real

world” and a “perceived world”. Since our perceptions always change our view of the world, thus,

it follows that no one has ever known the ultimate real world. What we know is the perceived

world.

This nation of dualism is very significant because it leads to the determination of our behavior.

The implication is that the way we perceive the world around us, determines the way we behave

to adjust to it. Therefore. The perceptions in our mind are strong sources of motivation for our

behavior.

2. Perception lead to reasoning and ideas so that, again, there are two nations:

a. Perceptions of material objects

b. Ideas based on reasoning.

We perceive material objects around us. As a result, we have perceptions of these objects in our

mind. These perceptions interact with on another and with other “things” already in our mind.

These interactions produce reasoning. Thus, reasoning in our minds leads to our understanding

of natural phenomenon around us and on many occasions such reasoning is the cause of our

behavior or lack of behavior. According to Plato, reasoning eventually leads to the development

of ideas that could be either abstract ideas or perceived versions of event happenings around

us. This Plato’s second aspect of dualism: perceptions of material object so one hand and the

reasoning and ideas on the other.

However, it does highlight how the dualism of perceptions of objects on the one hand and the

reasoning/ideas on the other, determines our behavior. This concept, therefore helps us

understand the very basics of human motivation.

The Fourth Dimension (Aristotle):

Aristotle, who was a student of Plato, further developed the philosophical ideas about life and his

theories have had a strong influence on the way humans think about the world around and

create knowledge as well as on the development of human civilization in general. Aristotle’s

views on dualism may be expressed in a simplified form as follows.

1. Doctrine of universal distinction of the form from the soul for all living things.

According to Aristotle, all living things are composed of two components: body and soul. The

body or form is very distinct and uniquely different from the soul. This fact is true for all living

things. That is why Aristotle called it a doctrine of universal distinction. Thus, according to

Aristotle the entire domain of living things (consisting of plants, animals and humans) has the

presence of both the form) physical dimension) and the soul (non-Physical dimension) such that

the form and the soul are totally distinct from each other. This id Aristotle’s Dualism.

2. All living things have two entities: Body and Soul

a. Body

According to Aristotle, the body is in material form and is mortal. Thus, the body or form is

physical in nature, it grows and develops and eventually declines leading to termination or

death. After death the body does not survive; it deteriorates and is decomposed.

b. Soul and Mind

The soul is non-material, has no form and is immortal. These three significant properties of the

soul were identified by Aristotle and made part of his thoughts about human life. According to

Aristotle, the soul for all life forms exists as something non-material and without any shape or

form. Eventually, even though the body becomes dead, the soul continues to live on forever. It

never becomes extinct.

Soul have three grades

Vegetative, sensitive and rational

Vegetative soul

It is concerned with propagation and growth and is found in all living things like as plants, animals

and humans.

Vegetative soul is an essential part of al forms of life

Sensitive soul

It is concerned with senses, locomotion and appetite and is found in humans and animals.

The sensitive soul determines the functioning of the five physical senses and plays a critical role in

survival, growth and propagation. Is helps the body in maintaining its physiological systems and

keeping it in equilibrium with the physical environment.

Sensitive soul is found only in animals and humans. It is not present in plants

Rational soul

It relates to reasoning and is divine and immortal. It is found only in humans. The rational soul is

directly concerned with the functioning of the mind. It is responsible for development of reasoning

and leads to the very essential process of decision making, which in turn determines conduct or

behavior. Thus, rational soul shows a direct link to motivation.

A very significant property of the rational soul is that it is divine in nature, that is , its origin lies with

a great force or power, such as God. In religious terms, the rational soul is blessed by Allah and

is subject to Allah’s will.

Rational soul is also immortal. The term soul when used in general or in common language

actually refers to the rational soul. The immortality of the soul is commonly believed and is a basic

concept or belief in many religions.

The End