SECTION 1: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT - UNIT 16: CRITICAL THINKING (What is the Soul?)

 

Immortality of the human soul has been, like other problems in philosophy, an unresolved and persistent problem. Over the years, solutions to this problem have proven inadequate as a result of the varieties of modes of philosophizing; philosophers’ theories or views; as well as the logical tenacity of these theories. 

A materialist, who is logically consistent with the tenets (doctrines) of materialism, cannot accept the existence of any spiritual reality. Bertrand Russell denied the immortality of the soul on the basis that man, instead of being made up of substances that is body and soul, is composed of events. He believes that death brings the human event to an end. Since there is a difference between “being”, and “acting”, we can argue that the existence (being) of a soul that survives death could be logically defended. The human soul exists, though it is not explicitly understandable. It is, ontologically (metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence) independent of the body. 

The human soul, being spiritual and subsistent, as well as the cause of life in the human person, is immortal. So, however convincing Russell’s argument against the doctrine of immortality of the soul may be, we must not lose sight of the truth that life is larger than logic. 

While metaphysicians hold that man is the sum of two essentially distinct and united elements (soul and body), Bertrand Russell holds otherwise. He, in fact, denied that these elements exist. In a logically consistent manner, Russell attempts to trash the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. He first attacked headlong (reckless) the fundament upon which this doctrine stands, i.e. the existence of the human soul. 

For Russell, everything in the world (including man) is composed of events. He contended the beliefs of the believers in immortality that the soul and body are disparate, and that the soul is something quite other than its empirical manifestations through our bodily organs. 

Also, Russell argued that from the consideration of conception, gestation, and infancy, one cannot seriously believe that the soul is any indivisible something, perfect and complete throughout this process. He equally argued that the human person is “a series of experiences connected by memory and by certain similarities of the sort we call habit.” 

1. The words in the crossword puzzle are from the text. Find them from the text to solve the puzzle based on the meaning clues given below. 

ANSWERS

1. indubitable
2. unprecedented 
3. emanation
4. evidently
5. insuperable
6. agitated
7. apt
8. repel
9. orthodox
10. hitherto 

B. Find the words from the text that mean the following. The first letter is given. 

1. misleading or illusionary (d............)
   deceptive
2. in a natural state; not yet processed or refined (c.............)
   crude 
3. a mystical horse like animal with a single straight horn projecting from its forehead (u.........)
   unicorn
4. never dying or decaying ( i..........)
   immortal
5. come to an end; stop (c...........)
   cease
6. to activate or put into motion (a............)
   actuate

GRAMMAR

USED TO

Look at these examples to see how used to, get used to and be used to are used.

I used to want to be a lawyer but then I realised how hard they work!
How's Mustang? Are you used to the cold weather yet?
No matter how many times I fly, I'll never get used to take-off and landing!

Used to + infinitive and be/get used to + -ing look similar but they have very different uses.

used to

We use used to + infinitive to talk about a past situation that is no longer true. It tells us that there was a repeated action or state in the past which has now changed.

She used to be a long-distance runner when she was younger.
I didn't use to sleep very well, but then I started doing yoga and it really helps.
Did you use to come here as a child?

be used to and get used to

Be used to means 'be familiar with' or 'be accustomed to'.

She's used to the city now and doesn't get lost any more.
He wasn't used to walking so much and his legs hurt after the hike.
I'm a teacher so I'm used to speaking in public.

We use get used to to talk about the process of becoming familiar with something.  

I'm finding this new job hard but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
It took my mother years to get used to living in Kathmandu after moving from Manigram.
I'm getting used to the noise now. I found it really stressful when I first moved in.

Be used to and get used to are followed by a noun, pronoun or the -ing form of a verb, and can be used about the past, present or future.

Check these examples,

Did your father use to take his donkey to school?

My father didn’t use to take his donkey to school on Mondays, because it was needed at the farm.

INCORRECT : Horseback riding was frightening to me at first, but now I am use to it.

CORRECT : Horseback riding was frightening to me at first, but now I am used to it.

Now, rewrite the following sentences using ‘used to’. You can make an affirmative/ negative statement or a question. 

1. I/live in a flat when I was a child.
   I used to live in a flat when I was a child.
2. She/love eating chocolate but now she hates it.
   She used to love eating chocolate but now she hates it.
3. He/go to fishing in the summer?
   Did he use to go fishing in the summer?
4. My sister/play tennis when she was at school.
   My sister used to play tennis when she was at school.
5. He/play football every weekend?
   Did he use to play football every weekend? 
6. My grandfather/speak five languages.
   My grandparents used to speak five languages. 
7. I/not hate school from the beginning.
   I did not use to hate school from the beginning. 
8. You/live in Kathmandu?
   Did you use to live in Kathmandu?
9. He/play Dandibiyo when he was a small child.
   He used to play Dandibiyo when he was a small child. 
10. She/wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears jeans.
    She used to wear a frock when she was small but nowadays she wears jeans. 

SOURCES : 

British Council. (2021, 5 12). Learn English. Retrieved from 'used to' + infinitive and 'be' or 'get used to' + '-ing': https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/used-to-infinitive-and-be-or-get-used-to-ing

Catherine Traffis. (2021, 5 12). Grammarly Blog. Retrieved from grammarly.com: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/used-to/

Chukwuma Joseph Nnaemeka and Onumadu, Ifeoma Helen. (2021, 5 12). Elixier Philosophy. Retrieved from Death as Finality in Bertrand Russell‟s Philosophy: A Critique: https://www.elixirpublishers.com/articles/1530702347_ELIXIR2018056208B.pdf

Curriculam Development Centre. (2020). English Grade 11. Sanothimi, Bhaktapur: Government of Nepal, Curriculum Development Centre.