Difference between revisions of "Soul" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Meister von Heiligenkreuz 001.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A depiction of an [[angel]] and a [[demon]] fighting for a man's soul as God watches above.]]
  
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In many [[Religion|religions]] and [[Philosophy|philosophical]] systems, the word "'''soul'''" designates the self-aware inner essence of a living being, seen as the true locus for its [[sapience]] and [[identity]]. Souls are often described as [[immortality|immortal]] (though not necesairly eternal)<ref>The concepts of immortality and eternalism are often confounded: Eternalism of the soul implies the pre-existence of the soul before birth; however, some systems teach that a soul is created at birth (or at conception) and becomes immortal thereafter.</ref> thereby existing following death in an [[afterlife]], albeit opinions vary wildly about what happens to the soul after the [[death]] of the body. Many see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it to have a material component, and some have even tried to establish the [[mass]] (or [[weight]]) of the soul.<ref>ADD SOURCE</ref>
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In many [[Religion|religious]] and [[Philosophy|philosophical]] systems, the word "'''soul'''" denotes the inner essence of a being comprising its locus of sapience (self-awareness) and metaphysical [[identity]]. Souls are usually described as [[immortality|immortal]] (surviving death in an [[afterlife]]) and incorporeal (without bodily form); however, some consider souls to have a material component, and have even tried to establish the [[mass]] (or [[weight]]) of the soul. Additionally, while souls are often described as immortal they are not necessarily eternal or indestructible, as is commonly assumed.<ref>Philosophically, the concepts of immortality and eternalism are often confounded: Eternalism of the soul implies the pre-existence of the soul before birth; however, some systems teach that a soul is created at birth (or at conception) and becomes immortal thereafter.</ref>  
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Throughout history, the belief in the existence of a soul has been a common feature in most of the world's religions and cultures,<ref>In his book ''Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge,'' biologist E. O. Wilson took note that sociology has identified belief in a soul as one of the universal human cultural elements.</ref> although some major religions (notably [[Buddhism]]) reject the notion of an eternal soul. Those not belonging to an organized religion still often believe in the existence of souls although some cultures posit more than one soul in each person. The metaphysical concept of a soul is often linked with ideas such as [[reincarnation]], [[heaven]], and [[hell]].  
  
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Throughout history, the belief in the existence of souls has been a common feature in many of the world's religions and cultures, although some major religions (notably [[Buddhism]]) reject the notion of an eternal soul. Modern skeptics often cite phenomena such as [[brain]] [[lesion]]s <ref>For instance, Broca's aphasia</ref> and [[Alzheimer's disease]] as supposed evidence that one's personality is material contrary to the philosophy of an immortal, unified soul.
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The word "soul" can also refer to a type of modern music (see [[Soul Music]]).
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Another fairly large segment of the population, not necessarily favoring organized religion, simply label themselves as "[[spirituality|spiritual]]" and hold that both humans and all other living creatures have souls. Some further believe the entire [[universe]] has a cosmic soul as a spirit or unified consciousness. Such a conception of the soul may link with the idea of an existence before and after the present one, and one could consider such a soul as the spark, or the self, the "I" in existence that feels and lives [[life]].
 
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Other popular uses of the term include:
 
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* Soulmates are people who one believes are destined to be found and become close to in this lifetime.
 
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* [[Soul (music)|Soul]] is a kind of modern music
 
  
 
==Etymology==
 
==Etymology==
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The modern English word ''soul'' derives from the Old English ''sáwol, sáwel'', which itself comes from the Old High German ''sêula, sêla.'' The word is thus an adaptation by early missionaries to the Germanic peoples, in particular [[Ulfila]], apostle to the [[Goths]] (4th century) of a native Germanic concept, coined as a translation of Greek ψυχή ''[[Psyche|psychē]]'' "life, spirit, consciousness".
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The modern English word ''soul'' derives from the Old English ''sáwol, sáwel,'' which itself comes from the Old High German ''sêula, sêla.'' The Germanic word is a translation of the Greek ''[[Psyche|psychē]]'' (ψυχή- "life, spirit, consciousness") by missionaries such as [[Ulfila]], apostle to the [[Goths]] (fourth century C.E.).
  
 
==Definition==
 
==Definition==
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The concept of a distinct animating force in human beings that was synomous with one's life-force, and essential identity (often called a "spirit" or "soul"), has been a pervasive human belief across cultures since the dawn of time.<ref>Of course, the ancient tradition of skepticism has also been found in all cultures, and co-existed with the belief in a soul.</ref> Many cultures embraced notions of [[animism]], [[shamanism]], and [[pantheism]], which postulated various ideas of multiple souls/spirits and/or a universal soul/spirits found in nature. Over time, philosophical reflection on the nature of the soul, spirit, and their relationship to material world, became more refined and sophisticated. In particular, the ancient [[Greek Philosophy|Greek philosophers]], for example, eventually distinguished between soul and spirit.
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There is no universal agreement on the nature, origin, or purpose of the soul although there is much consensus that life, as we know it, does involve some deeper animating force inherent in all living beings (or at least in humans). In fact, the concept of an intrinsic life-force in all organisms has been a pervasive cross-cultural human belief.<ref>Of course, the tradition of skepticism has been an equally ancient belied found in all cultures, and co-existing with the belief in a soul.</ref> Many preliterate cultures embraced notions of [[animism]] and [[shamanism]] postulating early ideas of the soul. Over time, philosophical reflection on the nature of the soul/spirit, and their relationship to the material world became more refined and sophisticated. In particular, the ancient Greeks and Hindu philosophers, for example, eventually distinguished different aspects of the soul, or alternatively, asserted the [[Advaita|non-dualism]] of the cosmic soul.  
  
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The Greek word ψυχή ''[[Psyche|psychē]]'' ("life, spirit, consciousness")
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Greek philosophers used many words for soul such as ''thymos, ker/kardie, phren/phrenes, menos, noos, and psyche.''<ref>David B. Claus, ''Toward the Soul: An Inquiry into the Meaning of ψυχή before Plato'' (Yale University Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0300020960) cf. Jan Bremmer, ''The Early Greek Concept of the Soul'' (Princeton University Press, 1983, ISBN 978-0691101903).</ref> Eventually, the Greeks differentiated between soul and spirit (''[[Psyche|psychē]]'' and ''pneuma'' respectively) and suggested that "aliveness" and the soul were conceptually linked.
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is derived from a verb "to cool, to blow" and hence refers to the vital breath, the animating principle in man and animals, as opposed to σῶμα "body".
 
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It could refer to a ghost or spirit of the dead in [[Homer]], and to a more philosophical notion of an immortal and immaterial essence left over at death since [[Pindar]].  Latin ''[[anima]]'' figured as a translation of ψυχή since [[Terence]]. It occurs juxtaposed to σῶμα}} e.g. in {{bibleref|Matthew|10:28}}:
 
  
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:[[KJV]] "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
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However, it is not entirely clear that a single being had only one soul, as is often believed today. In fact, several ancient cultures such as the Egyptians and the Chinese posited that individual beings comprised of different souls (or had different elements in their soul). For instance, [[Egyptian mythology]] taught that an individual was made up of various elements, some physical and some spiritual, the ''Ren'' (name), the ''Bâ'' (personality), the ''Ka'' (vital spark), the ''Sheut'' (shadow), and the ''Jb'' (heart). Chinese tradition suggests that every individual has two types of soul called ''hun'' and ''po''. [[Daoism]] considers there are ten elements to the soul: three ''hun'' and seven ''po''.
  
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In the [[Septuagint]], ψυχή translates [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] {{lang|he|נפש}} ''[[nephesh]]'', meaning "life, vital breath", in English variously translated as "soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion"; e.g. in {{bibleref|Genesis|1:20}}.
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It is also debated whether both animals and humans have souls, or only humans. In some systems of thought, souls are restricted to human beings while in other systems, souls encompass all life forms. These questions are often related to larger issues of creation and the relationship of the Creator to the created.
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[[Paul of Tarsus]] used ψυχή and πνευμα]] specifically to distinguish between the Jewish notions of נפש ''nephesh'' and רוח ''[[ruah]]'' (also in LXX, e.g. {{bibleref|Genesis|1:2}}  וְר֣וּחַ[[אֱלֹהִ֔ים =  πνευμα θεου = ''spiritus Dei'' = "the Spirit of God").
 
  
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Thus, the ancient Greeks used the same word for 'alive' as for 'ensouled' suggesting that "aliveness" and the soul were conceptually linked.
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Consequently, the definition of a soul is not as straightforward as it may seem for it is confounded by issues of whether their is one soul or many, whether souls are pre-existent or created, and whether they are unified or separated, as well as their relationship to a divine being. For these reasons, it is impossible to come up with a universally recognized definition of a soul, although in popular spirituality souls are generally perceived to be the inner essence of a person that survives death and is essentially spiritual, although these views many not accord with scriptural teachings.
  
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Pindar in saying that the soul sleeps whilst the limbs are active, but when man is sleeping, the soul is active and reveals in many a dream "an award of joy or sorrow drawing near".<ref>Francis M. Cornford, ''Greek Religious Thought'', p.64, referring to Pindar, Fragment 131.</ref>
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==Philosophical Perspectives==
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[[Image:Sanzio 01 Plato Aristotle.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Plato]] (left) and Aristotle (right), a detail of ''The School of Athens,'' a fresco by [[Raphael]]. Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience, whilst Plato points up to the heavens showing his belief in the ultimate truth.]]
  
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Erwin Rohde writes that the early pre-[[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] belief was that the soul had no life when it departed from the body, and retired into Hades with no hope of returning to a body.<ref>Erwin Rohde, ''Psyche'', 1928.</ref>
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Among Western philosophers, the ancient Greeks provided much insight into the nature of the soul. Two paradigmatic viewpoints were articulated by the philosophers [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]].  
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[[Image:Sanzio 01 Plato Aristotle.jpg|thumb|right|[[Plato]] (left) and Aristotle (right), a detail of ''[[The School of Athens]]'', a fresco by [[Raphael]]. Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience, whilst Plato points up to the heavens showing his belief in the ultimate truth.]]
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Plato, drawing on the words of his teacher [[Socrates]], considered the soul as the [[essence]] of a person, which is an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As our bodies die the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. For Plato, the soul comprises three parts, each having a function in a balanced and peaceful life:
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[[Plato]], drawing on the words of his teacher [[Socrates]], considered the soul as the [[essence]] of a person, being,  that which decides how we behave. He considered this essence as an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As bodies die the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. The Platonic soul comprises three parts:  
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# the [[logos]]  ([[mind]], [[nous]], [[Ego, super-ego, and id|superego]], or [[reason]])
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1. the ''[[logos]]'' ([[superego]], [[mind]], [[nous]], or [[reason]]). The logos corresponds to the charioteer, directing the balanced horses of appetite and spirit. It allows for [[logic]] to prevail, and for the optimisation of balance
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# the [[thymos]] ([[emotion]], ego, or spiritedness)
 
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# the [[pathos]] (appetitive, id, or [[carnal]])
 
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Each of these has a function in a balanced and peaceful soul.
 
  
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The logos equates to the mind (superego). It corresponds to the charioteer, directing the balanced horses of appetite and spirit. It allows for [[logic]] to prevail, and for the optimisation of balance.
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2. the ''[[thymos]]'' ([[emotion]], ego, or spiritedness). The thymos comprises our emotional motive (ego), that which drives us to acts of bravery and glory. If left unchecked, it leads to ''[[hubris]]''—the most fatal of all flaws in the Greek view.
  
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The thymos comprises our emotional motive (ego), that which drives us to acts of bravery and glory. If left unchecked, it leads to ''[[hubris]]'' — the most fatal of all flaws in the Greek view.
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3. the ''[[pathos]]'' (appetitive, id, or carnal). The pathos equates to the appetite (id) that drives humankind to seek out its basic bodily needs. When the passion controls us, it drives us to [[hedonism]] in all forms. In the Ancient Greek view, this is the basal and most feral state.
  
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The pathos equates to the appetite (id) that drives humankind to seek out its basic bodily needs. When the passion controls us, it drives us to [[hedonism]] in all forms. In the Ancient Greek view, this is the basal and most feral state.
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Although [[Aristotle]] agreed with Plato that the soul is the core essence of a being, he argued against its having a separate existence. Unlike Plato, Aristotle did not consider the soul as some kind of separate, ghostly occupant of the body. According to him, the soul is an ''actuality'' of a living body, and thus it cannot be immortal.<ref>There is on-going debate about Aristotle's views regarding the immortality of the human soul; however, Aristotle makes it clear towards the end of his ''De Anima'' that he does believe that the intellect, which he considers to be a part of the soul, is eternal and separable from the body.</ref> Aristotle describes this concept of the soul in many of his works such as the ''[[De Anima]].'' He believed that there were four parts, or powers, of the soul: the calculative part, the scientific part on the rational side used for making decisions and the desiderative part and the vegetative part on the irrational side responsible for identifying our needs.
  
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[[Aristotle]], following Plato, defined the soul as the core essence of a being, but argued against its having a separate existence. For instance, if a knife had a soul, the act of cutting would be that soul,  because 'cutting' is the essence of what it is to be a knife. Unlike Plato and the religious traditions, Aristotle did not consider the soul as some kind of separate, ghostly occupant of the body (just as we cannot separate the activity of cutting from the knife). As the soul, in Aristotle's view, is an ''actuality'' of a living body, it cannot be immortal (when a knife is destroyed, the cutting stops). More precisely, the soul is the "first actuality" of a naturally organized body. This is a state, or a potential for actual, or 'second', activity.  "The axe has an edge for cutting" was, for Aristotle, analogous to "humans have bodies for rational activity," and the potential for rational activity thus constituted the essence of a human soul. Aristotle used his concept of the soul in many of his works; the ''[[De Anima]]'' (''On the Soul'') provides a good place to start to gain more understanding of his views.
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Pre-[[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] belief was that the soul had no life when it departed from the body, and retired into Hades with no hope of returning to a body.<ref>Erwin Rohde, ''Psyche: the Cult Of Souls And Belief In Immortality Among The Greeks'' (Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415225632).</ref>
  
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There is on-going debate about Aristotle's views regarding the immortality of the human soul; however, Aristotle makes it clear towards the end of his De Anima that he does believe that the intellect, which he considers to be a part of the soul, is eternal and separable from the body.
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==Religious views==
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An alphabetical survey of some religious views on the soul is provided below:
  
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Aristotle also believed that there were four parts, or powers, of the soul: the calculative part, the scientific part on the rational side used for making decisions and the desiderative part and the vegetative part on the irrational side responsible for identifying our needs.-
 
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==Religious views==
 
 
===Bahá'í beliefs===
 
===Bahá'í beliefs===
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The principle figure of the [[Bahá'í]] Faith, known as [[Bahá'u'lláh]], taught that individuals have no existence previous to their life here on earth. A human being spends nine months in the womb in preparation for entry into this physical life. During that nine-month period, the fetus acquires the physical tools (e.g., eyes, limbs, and so forth) necessary for existence in this world. He said that similarly, this physical world is like a womb for entry into the spiritual world.<ref name=gleanings>[https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-82.html#gr1 Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]. ''Bahai Reference Library''. Retrieved July 14, 2023. </ref> Our time here is thus a period of preparation during which we are to acquire the spiritual and intellectual tools necessary for life in the next world. The crucial difference is that, whereas physical development in the mother's womb is involuntary, spiritual and intellectual development in this world depends strictly on conscious individual effort.<ref name=gleanings/> The soul's evolution is always towards God and away from the material world.
  
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Bahá'u'lláh taught that individuals have no existence previous to their life here on earth. The soul's evolution is always towards God and away from the material world. A human being spends nine months in the womb in preparation for entry into this physical life. During that nine-month period, the fetus acquires the physical tools (e.g., eyes, limbs, and so forth) necessary for existence in this world. Similarly, this physical world is like a womb for entry into the spiritual world.<ref name="rob1" /> Our time here is thus a period of preparation during which we are to acquire the spiritual and intellectual tools necessary for life in the next world. The crucial difference is that, whereas physical development in the mother's womb is involuntary, spiritual and intellectual development in this world depends strictly on conscious individual effort.<ref name="rob1" />
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===Chinese beliefs===
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The ancient Chinese believed that every person's soul consisted of at least two distinct parts: ''p'o'' and ''hun.'' The ''p‘o'' is the visible personality indissolubly attached to the body, while the ''hun'' was its more ethereal complement also interpenetrating the body, but not of necessity tied to it. The hun in its wanderings may be either visible or invisible; if the former, it appears in the guise of its original body, which actually may be far away lying in a trance-like state tenanted by the p‘o. Furthermore, the body is duplicated under these conditions, but also the garments that clothe it. Should the hun stay away permanently, death results.
  
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===Christian beliefs===
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Most [[Daoism|Daoist]] schools believe that every individual has more than one soul (or the soul can be separated into different parts) and these souls are constantly transforming themselves. Some believe there are at least three souls for every person: one soul coming from one's father, one from one's mother, and one primordial soul. An important part of spiritual practice for some Taoist schools is to harmonize/integrate those three souls.
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Christians believe that when people die their souls will be judged by God, who sees all the wrong and right that they have done during their lives. If they have repented of their [[sin]]s and accepted [[Jesus Christ]] as Lord and Savior, they will inherit eternal life in Heaven and enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Most Christians believe that if one has not repented of his sins and not accepted Jesus Christ, he will go to [[Hell]], and suffer eternal torment and separation from God. This is the teaching of most [[evangelicalism|evangelical]], [[Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches, which constitute the majority of Christianity, though there are some Christians that believe the soul will be destroyed in hell, instead of suffering eternally.
 
  
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Some [[Christianity|Christians]] regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human - the seat or locus of human will, understanding, and personality - and that after death, God either rewards or punishes the soul. Different groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in [[Jesus]].  
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Some other schools believe there are ten souls for each person: three from heaven, seven from earth.
  
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Other [[Christianity|Christians]] reject the idea of the immortality of the soul, citing the Apostles Creed's reference to the "resurrection of the body" (the Greek word for body is ''soma'', which implies the whole person, not ''sarx'', the term for ''flesh'' or ''corpse''). They consider the soul (Greek ''pnema'' - air, wind, breath) to be the life force, which ends in death and is restored in the resurrection. Theologian Frederick Buechner sums up this position in his 1973 book Whistling in the Dark: "...we go to our graves as dead as a doornail and are given our lives back again by God (i.e., resurrected) just as we were given them by God in the first place."
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===Christian beliefs===
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Some [[Christianity|Christians]] regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human - the seat or locus of human will, understanding, and personality - and that after death, God either rewards or punishes the soul. (Different groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in [[Jesus]].)  Other Christians reject the idea of the immortality of the soul, citing the Apostles Creed's reference to the "resurrection of the body" (the Greek word for body is ''soma,'' which implies the whole person, not ''sarx,'' the term for ''flesh'' or ''corpse''). They consider the soul to be the life force, which ends in death and is restored in the resurrection. In this theory, the soul goes to "sleep" at the time of death, and stays in this quiescent state until the last [[judgment]]. However, other Christians that believe the soul will be destroyed in hell, instead of suffering eternally.<ref>See, for example, the Bible verse: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).</ref>
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[[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], one of the most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body". The [[apostle Paul]] said that the "body wars against" the soul, and that "I buffet my body", to keep it under control.  Philosopher [[Anthony Quinton]] said the soul is a "series of mental states connected by continuity of character and memory, [and] is the essential constituent of personality. The soul, therefore, is not only logically distinct from any particular human body with which it is associated; it is also what a person is". [[Richard Swinburne]], a Christian philosopher of religion at [[Oxford University]], wrote that "it is a frequent criticism of substance dualism that dualists cannot say what souls are.... Souls are immaterial subjects of mental properties. They have sensations and thoughts, desires and beliefs, and perform intentional actions. Souls are essential parts of human beings..."
 
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The origin of the soul has provided a sometimes vexing question in Christianity; the major theories put forward include [[creationism]], [[traducianism]] and [[pre-existence]]. According to creationism, each individual soul is created directly by God, either at the moment of conception, or some later time (identical twins arise several cell divisions after conception, but no one would deny that they have whole souls). According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the pre-existence theory the soul exists before the moment of conception.
 
  
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Roman Catholic beliefs:
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One of the main issues is whether the body and soul are separate or there is unity, and whether they remain so after death. In popular thinking, it is often presumed that the soul survives death separate from the body but scriptural analysis suggests that the resurrected person involves both body and soul together and unified. [[Seventh-Day Adventists]] believe that the main definition of the term "Soul" is a combination of Spirit (breath of life) and body, defying the view that the soul has a consciousness or sentient existence of its own. They affirm this through Genesis 2:7 "And (God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Yet, other passages from the [[Bible]] seem to contradict this view. For example, "Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief." The soul and body are noted as separate. Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Here the body and soul are noted as separate again. Micah 6:7 "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Once again, the soul and body are noted separate.
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* The present [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] defines the soul as "the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: 'soul' signifies the ''spiritual principle'' in man."
 
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* The soul is the center of the human will, intellect (or mind), and imagination (or memory), and the source of all free human acts, although good acts are aided by God's grace.
 
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* Every human being receives a soul at the moment of conception, and has rights and dignity equal to persons of further development, including the right to life.
 
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* At the moment of death, the soul goes either to [[Purgatory]], Heaven, or Hell. Purgatory is a place of atonement for sins that one goes through to pay the temporal punishment for post-baptismal sins that have not been atoned for by sufferings during one's earthly life. This is distinct from the atonement for the eternal punishment due to sin which was affected by Christ's suffering and death.
 
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* The Catholic Church teaches the creationist view of the origin of the soul: "The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God." -Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 382.  
 
  
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Other Christian beliefs:
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[[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], one of the most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body." The [[apostle Paul]] said that the "body wars against" the soul, and that "I buffet my body," to keep it under control. Saint [[Thomas Aquinas]] understood the soul as the first principle, or act, of the body. However, his epistemological theory required that, since the intellectual soul is capable of knowing all material things, and since in order to know a material thing there must be no material thing within it, the soul was definitely not corporeal. Therefore, the soul had an operation separate from the body and therefore could subsist without the body. Furthermore, since the rational soul of human beings was subsistent and was not made up of matter and form, it could not be destroyed in any natural process. The full argument for the immortality of the soul and Thomas's elaboration of Aristotelian theory is found in Question 75 of the ''[[Summa Theologica]].''
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* [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] views are very similar to Catholic views.
 
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* Protestants generally believe both in the soul's existence but do not generally believe in Purgatory. [[Protestant]] views on other issues are more varied.
 
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* A few Christian groups do not believe in the soul, and hold that people cease to exist, both mind and body, at death; they claim however, that God will recreate the minds and bodies of believers in Jesus at some future time, the "[[End of the world (religion)|end of the world]]."[http://www.wake-up.org/daystar/Ds1996/DEC96B.html]
 
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* Another minority of Christians believe in the soul, but do not regard it as inherently immortal. This minority also believes the life of Christ brings immortality, but only to believers.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}
 
  
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* The soul sleep theory states that the soul goes to "sleep" at the time of death, and stays in this quiescent state until the [[last judgment]].
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The present [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] defines the soul as "the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: 'soul' signifies the ''spiritual principle'' in man." The soul is the center of the human will, intellect (or mind), and imagination (or memory), and the source of all free human acts, although good acts are aided by God's grace. At the moment of death, the soul goes either to [[Purgatory]], Heaven, or Hell. Purgatory is a place of atonement for sins that one goes through to pay the temporal punishment for post-baptismal sins that have not been atoned for by sufferings during one's earthly life. This is distinct from the atonement for the eternal punishment due to sin which was affected by Christ's suffering and death. [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] views are very similar to Catholic views while Protestants generally believe both in the soul's existence but do not generally believe in Purgatory.
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* The "absent from the body, present with the Lord" theory states that the soul at the point of death, immediately becomes present at the end of time, without experiencing any time passing between.
 
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* [[Swedenborgianism]] teaches that each person's soul is created by the Lord at the same time as the physical body is developed, that the soul is the person himself or herself, and that the soul is eternal, and has an eternal spiritual body, that is substantial without being material. After the death of the body, the person becomes immediately conscious in the [[spiritual world]].
 
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* Some minorities believe that a soul is what keeps the spirit alive (thinking and feeling) and when the soul is destroyed on death leaving the spirit dormant.
 
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* [[Seventh-Day Adventists]] believe that the main definition of the term "Soul" is a combination of Spirit (breath of life) and body, defying the view that the soul has a consciousness or sentient existence of its own, (<small>see [[soul sleep]]</small>). They affirm this through Genesis 2:7 "And (God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
 
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* [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saints]] (Mormons) believe that the soul is the union of a spirit, which was previously created by God, and a body, which is formed by physical conception later.
 
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* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] view the Hebrew word NePHeSH in its literal concrete meaning of breath, making a person who is animated by the spirit of God into a living BREATHER, rather than a body containing an invisible entity such as the majority concept of Soul. Spirit is seen to be anything powerful and invisible symbolized by the Hebrew word RuaCH which has the literal meaning of wind. Thus Soul is used by them to mean a person rather than an invisible core entity associated with a spirit or a force, which leaves the body at or after death. (Gen.2:7; Ezek.18:4, KJV). When a person dies his Soul leaves him meaning that he has stopped breathing and his fate for any future existence rests solely with God who they believe has the power to re-create the whole person and restore their existence. This is in line with their belief that Hell represents the grave and the possibility of eternal death for unbelievers rather than eternal torment. See Strong's Concordance under "soul", with Biblical meaning that animals and people are souls, that souls are not immortal, but die; soul means the person; life as a person, etc.
 
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Some traditional Christians argue that the Bible teaches the survival of a conscious self after death.  They interpret this as an intermediate state, before the deceased unite with their [[Resurrection]] bodies and restore the psychosomatic unity that existed from conception, and which death disrupts.  Amongst others these Christians point out:
 
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* Rachel's death in Genesis 35:18 equates with her soul (Hebrew ''nephesh'') departing.  And when Elijah prays in 1 Kings 17:21 for the return of a widow's boy to life, he entreats, "O Lord my God, I pray you, let this child's ''nephesh'' come into him again".  So death meant that something called ''nephesh'' (or "soul") became separated from the body, and life could return when this soul returned.
 
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* Psalm 31:9
 
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"Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief." The soul and body are noted as separate. Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Here the body and soul are noted as separate again. Micah 6:7 "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Once again, the soul and body are noted separate.
 
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* Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross, "I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).  Interpretation: that very day, the thief will in a conscious way have fellowship with Christ in Paradise, despite the apparent destruction of his body. According to the apostle Peter, Jesus descended (upon His death) into Hades, which could not hold Him, and led the souls of the righteous dead (including the thief on the cross) which were imprisoned in Paradise (a compartment of Hades, which was reserved for those righteous dead) out of captivity, and "led captivity captive" (thus emptying Paradise, according to the apostle Paul), who also claimed that Jesus was King not only by birth, but "by nature of an indestructible life" (in the letter to the Hebrews, if it was written by Paul). Afterwards, in John's vision of Revelation, Jesus appeared to John and claimed that He had "the keys of Hades".
 
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* Jesus' account of the rich man and Lazarus, who were both still conscious at the same time as the rich man's brothers, who lived on. This scenario preceded Jesus taking the souls of Paradise with Him to heaven, therefore Lazarus remains in Paradise. The rich man stood in another compartment of [[Sheol]] where he could see Lazarus, but could never cross over. The patriarch Abraham comforted Lazarus, whereas the rich man remained in torment. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into Heaven," (although Lazarus was not there yet).
 
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* In Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Body and Soul are separate.
 
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* In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Body and Soul are separate as well.
 
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* In Matthew 22:31b-32 Jesus says, "...have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is God not of the dead, but of the living." (NRSV), suggesting the patriarchs are still "living" in some form.
 
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* In Luke 20:38 Jesus said, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." To God everyone is alive, therefore confirming an afterlife.
 
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* In Luke 9:27, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Therefore confirming that the apostles did not perish but lived an afterlife.
 
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* In John 8:51 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." Therefore confirming an afterlife.
 
−
* In Ecclesiastes 12:7 it says, "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it."
 
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St. [[Thomas Aquinas]] understood the soul as the first principle, or act, of the body.  However, his epistemological theory required that, since the intellectual soul is capable of knowing all material things, and since in order to know a material thing there must be no material thing within it, the soul was definitely not corporeal.  Therefore, the soul had an operation separate from the body and therefore could subsist without the body.  Furthermore, since the rational soul of human beings was subsistent and was not made up of matter and form, it could not be destroyed in any natural process.  The full argument for the immortality of the soul and Thomas's elaboration of Aristotelian theory is found in Question 75 of the [[Summa Theologica]].
 
  
 
===Hindu beliefs===
 
===Hindu beliefs===
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In [[Hinduism]], the [[Sanskrit]] words most closely corresponding to soul are "[[Jiva]]", meaning the individual soul or personality, and "[[Atman]]", which can also mean soul or even divinity ([[Brahman]]). The Atman is seen as Brahman within us. Hinduism contains many variant beliefs on the origin, purpose, and fate of the soul. For example, [[advaita]] (non-dualism) accords the soul union with Brahman, (the absolute), in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. [[Dvaita]] ([[dualism]]) rejects this, instead identifying the soul as a different and incompatible substance.
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In [[Hinduism]], several [[Sanskrit]] words are used to denote the "soul" within living beings. These words include "[[Jiva]]" (individual soul), "[[Atman]]" (intrinsic divine essence), and "[[Purusha]]" (spirit), among others. Hinduism contains many variant beliefs on the origin, purpose, and fate of the soul. For example, [[Advaita]] (non-dualism) accords the soul union with [[Brahman]] (the Absolute) in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. [[Dvaita]] ([[dualism]]) rejects this position, instead identifying the soul as a different and incompatible substance.
  
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The [[Bhagavad Gita]], one of the most significant [[puranic]] scriptures, refers to the spiritual body or soul as [[Purusha]] (see also [[Sankhya]] philosophy). The Purusha is part and parcel of God, is unchanging (is never born and never dies), is indestructible, and, though essentially indivisible, can be described as having three characteristics:(i)''Sat'' (truth or existence),(ii)''Chit'' (consciousness or knowledge), and (iii)''Ananda'' (bliss).
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The [[Bhagavad Gita]], one of the most significant Hindu scriptures, refers to the spiritual body or soul as [[Purusha]] (see also [[Sankhya]] philosophy). The Purusha is part and parcel of God, is unchanging (is never born and never dies), is indestructible, and, though essentially indivisible, can be described as having three characteristics: (i)' 'Sat'' (truth or existence), (ii) ''Chit'' (consciousness or knowledge), and (iii) ''Ananda'' (bliss).
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In [[Surat Shabd Yoga|Surat Shabda Yoga]], the soul is considered to be an exact replica and spark of the Divine.  The purpose of Surat Shabd Yoga is to realize one’s True Self as soul (Self-Realisation), True Essence (Spirit-Realisation) and True Divinity (God-Realisation) while living in the physical body.
 
  
 
===Islamic beliefs===
 
===Islamic beliefs===
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The [[Qur'an]] does not explain much about the concept of the soul and instead says:” The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)"[http://quran.al-islam.com/Targama/DispTargam.asp?nType=1&nSeg=0&l=arb&nSora=17&nAya=85&t=eng]. So little information is available in that regard from [[Islam]].
+
The [[Qur'an]] does not explain much about the concept of the soul. However, the following information can be inferred. According to the Holy Qur'an (Sura 15 verse 29), the creation of man involves [[Allah]] or an [[Angel]] of Allah "breathing" a soul into man. This intangible part of an individual's existence is "pure" at birth and has the potential of growing and achieving nearness to God if the person leads a righteous life. At death the person's soul transitions to an eternal afterlife of bliss, peace and unending spiritual growth (Qur’an 66:8, 39:20). This transition can be pleasant (Heaven) or unpleasant ([[Jahanna|Hell]]) depending on the degree to which a person has developed or destroyed his or her soul during life (Qur’an 91:7-10).  
  
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According to few verses from Qur'an though the following information can be deduced: In part 15 verse 29, the creation of man involves [[Allah]] or an [[Angel]] of Allah "breathing" a soul into him. This intangible part of an individual's existence is "pure" at birth and has the potential of growing and achieving nearness to God if the person leads a righteous life. At death the person's soul transitions to an eternal afterlife of bliss, peace and unending spiritual growth (Qur’an 66:8, 39:20). This transition can be pleasant (Heaven) or unpleasant (Hell) depending on the degree to which a person has developed or destroyed his or her soul during life (Qur’an 91:7-10).
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Thus, it is generally believed that all living beings are comprised of two aspects during their existence: the physical (being the body) and the non-physical (being the soul). The non-physical aspect, namely the soul, includes his/her feelings and emotions, thoughts, conscious and sub-conscious desires and objectives. While the body and its physical actions are said to serve as a “reflection” of one’s soul, whether it is good or evil, thus confirming the extent of such intentions.  
  
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Generally, it is believed that all living beings are compromised of two aspects during their existence: The physical (being the body) and the non-physical (being the soul). The non-physical aspect, namely the soul, is one's soul-related activities like his/her feelings and emotions, thoughts, [[conscious]] and [[sub-conscious]] desires and objectives. While the body and its physical actions serve as a “reflection” of one’s soul, whether it was good or evil, and thus "confirms" the extent of such intentions [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/077.sbt.html#008.077.609]. For further clarification, another example can be found in the Qur'an where Allah says that Prophet Muhammad’s followers have their noble personalities and characteristics “written” and shown on their faces [http://quran.al-islam.com/Targama/DispTargam.asp?nType=1&nSora=48&nAya=29&nSeg=1&l=arb&t=eng].
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===Jain beliefs===
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According to [[Jainism]], Soul (jiva) exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the body that houses it. Every being – be it a human or a plant or a bacterium – has a soul and has a capacity to experience pain and pleasure. The soul (Jiva) is differentiated from non-soul or non-living reality ''(ajiva)'' that includes matter, time, space, principle of motion and principle of rest.
  
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===Jainist beliefs===
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As realization of the soul and its salvation are the highest objective to be attained, most of the Jaina texts deal with various aspects of the soul (i.e., its qualities, attributes, bondage, interaction with other elements, salvation etc.).  
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According to [[Jainism]], Soul (jiva) exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the body that houses it. Every living being – be it a human or a plant or a bacterium – has a soul and has a capacity to experience pain and pleasure. The soul (Jiva) is differentiated from non-soul or non-living reality (ajiva) that includes matter, time, space, principle of motion and principle of rest.
+
The soul is described as being without taste, color and cannot be perceived by the five senses. Consciousness is its chief attribute. To know the soul is to be free of any gender and not bound by any dimensions of shape and size. Hence the soul, according to Jainism, is indestructible and permanent from the point of view of substance. It is temporary and ever changing from the point of view of its modes. The soul continuously undergoes modifications as per the [[karma]] it attracts and hence reincarnates in the following four states of existence - 1) as a Demi-God in Heaven, or 2) as a tormented soul in Hell, or 3) as a Human being on Continents, or  4) as an Animal, or a Plant, or as a Micro-organism. The soul will remain in bondage until it attains liberation. The liberated soul, which is formless and incorporeal in nature, is said to experience infinite knowledge, omniscience, infinite power and infinite bliss after liberation. Even after liberation and attainment of Godhood, the soul does not merge into any entity (as in other philosophies), but maintains its individuality.
−
 
 
−
As realization of the soul and its salvation are the highest objective to be attained, most of the Jaina texts deal with various aspects of the soul i.e. its qualities, attributes, bondage, interaction with other elements, salvation etc.  
 
−
The soul is described as being without taste, colour and cannot be perceived by the five senses. Consciousness is its chief attribute. To know the soul is to be free of any gender and not bound by any dimensions of shape and size. Hence the soul, according to Jainism, is indestructible and permanent from the point of view of substance. It is temporary and ever changing from the point of view of its modes. The soul continuously undergoes modifications as per the [[karma]] it attracts and hence reincarnates in the following four states of existence - 1) as a Demi-God in Heaven, or 2) as a tormented soul in Hell, or 3) as a Human being on Continents , or  4) as an Animal, or a Plant, or as a Micro-organism.
 
−
 
 
−
The soul is always found to be in bondage (with its karmas) since the beginingless time and hence continuously undergoes the cycle of birth and death in these four states of existence until it attains liberation.
 
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The Jaina beliefs on the soul can be summarized as under :-The souls are classified as – mundane which are non liberated souls and liberated souls who have achieved Godhood by burning their karmas. Mundane souls are further classified on the basis of evolution of senses and faculties that it possesses. E.g., humans are classified as five sense souls and Plants and Microbes are classified as single-sensed souls.Consciousness characterized by Perception and Knowledge is the intrinsic quality of a Soul.In all there are 8.4 million species of life forms in four states of existence in which a soul transmigrates an a continuous cycle until it achieves salvation. A Supreme Being as a creator and operator of this universe does not exist. A soul is the master of its own destiny. It is its own lord. The suffering and liberation of the soul are not dependent on any divine grace. It attains salvation by its own efforts.Every soul has the capacity to achieve Godhood in its human birth. This is achieved by burning the accumulated Karmas by following complete non-violence and non-attachment.Liberation is permanent and irreversible. The liberated soul which is formless and incorporeal in nature experiences infinite knowledge, omniscience, infinite power and infinite bliss after liberation. Even after liberation and attainment of Godhood, the soul does not merge into any entity (as in other philosophies), but maintains its individuality.
 
  
 
===Jewish beliefs===
 
===Jewish beliefs===
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[[Jew]]ish views of the soul begin with the book of [[Genesis]], in which verse 2:7 states, "the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." (New JPS)
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According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], the origin of the soul is described in the [[Book of Genesis]], which states "the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" ([[Genesis]] 2:7 New JPS). In other books of the [[Tanakh]], Rachel's death in Genesis 35:18 equates with her soul (Hebrew ''nephesh'') departing. Later, when Elijah prays in 1 Kings 17:21 for the return of a widow's boy to life, he entreats, "O Lord my God, I pray you, let this child's ''nephesh'' come into him again." Thus, death in the Torah meant that something called ''nephesh'' (or "soul") became separated from the body, and life could return when this soul returned. Classical rabbinic literature provided various commentaries on the [[Torah]], which elucidated the nature of the soul. For example, [[Saadia Gaon]], in his ''Emunoth ve-Deoth'' 6:3, held that the soul comprises that part of a person's mind that constitutes physical desire, emotion, and thought. [[Maimonides]], in his ''The Guide to the Perplexed,'' viewed the soul through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy, as a person's developed intellect.
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The [[Torah]] offers no systematic definition of a soul but various descriptions of the soul exist in classical rabbinic literature.
 
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[[Saadia Gaon]], in his ''[[Emunoth ve-Deoth]]'' 6:3, explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul. He held that the soul comprises that part of a person's mind that constitutes physical desire, emotion, and thought.  
 
  
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[[Maimonides]], in his ''[[The Guide to the Perplexed]]'', explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy, and viewed the soul as a person's developed intellect, which has no substance.
+
[[Kabbalah]] (Jewish mysticism) saw the soul as having three elements: the ''nephesh,'' ''ru'ah,'' and ''neshamah.'' A common way of explaining these three parts follows:
  
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Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) saw the soul as having three elements: the ''nephesh'', ''ru'ah'', and ''neshamah''. A common way of explaining these three parts follows:
+
*''Nephesh'' - The part that is alive and signifies that which is vital in man: it feels hunger, hates, loves, loathes, weeps, and most importantly, can die (can depart from the body, but can sometimes come back in again). The nephesh is in all humans and enters the body at birth when the body first takes a breath. Animals also have a nephesh (they breathe), but plants do not. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature.<ref>Gerhard von Rad, ''Old Testament Theology'' (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0664224073).</ref>
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*''Nephesh'' - The part that is alive and signifies that which is vital in man: it feels hunger, hates, loves, loathes, weeps, and most importantly, can die (can depart from the body, but can sometimes come back in again). The nephesh is in all humans and enters the body at birth when the body first takes a breath. Animals also have a nephesh (they breathe), but plants do not. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature. (derived from ''Old Testament Theology'', by Gerhard von Rad)
 
  
 
The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually:
 
The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually:
Line 144: Line 87:
 
*''Ruach'' - the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In modern parlance, it equates to psyche or [[ego]]-personality.
 
*''Ruach'' - the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In modern parlance, it equates to psyche or [[ego]]-personality.
  
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*''Neshamah'' - the higher soul, Higher Self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God. In the Zohar, after death ''Nefesh'' disintegrates, ''Ruach'' is sent to a sort of intermediate zone where it is submitted to purification and enters in "temporary paradise", while ''Neshamah'' returns to the source, the world of Platonic ideas, where it enjoys "the kiss of the beloved". Supposedly after resurrection, ''Ruach'' and ''Neshamah'', soul and spirit re-unite in a permanently transmuted state of being.  
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*''Neshamah'' - the higher soul, Higher Self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God. In the [[Zohar]], after death, the ''Nefesh'' disintegrates, ''Ruach'' is sent to a sort of intermediate zone where it is submitted to purification and enters in "temporary paradise," while ''Neshamah'' returns to the source, the world of Platonic ideas, where it enjoys "the kiss of the beloved." Supposedly after resurrection, ''Ruach'' and ''Neshamah,'' soul and spirit re-unite in a permanently transmuted state of being.  
  
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The ''Raaya Meheimna'', a Kabbalistic tractate always published with the Zohar, posits two more parts of the human soul, the ''chayyah'' and ''yehidah''. [[Gershom Scholem]] wrote that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals":
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The ''Raaya Meheimna,'' a Kabbalistic tractate always published with the Zohar, posits two more parts of the human soul, the ''chayyah'' and ''yehidah.'' [[Gershom Scholem]] wrote that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals":
  
 
*''Chayyah'' - The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.  
 
*''Chayyah'' - The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.  
Line 152: Line 95:
 
*''Yehidah'' - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.
 
*''Yehidah'' - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.
  
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====Extra soul states====
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=== Sikh beliefs ===
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Both Rabbinic and kabbalistic works also posit a few additional, non-permanent states to the soul that people can develop on certain occasions. These extra souls, or extra states of the soul, play no part in any afterlife scheme, but are mentioned for completeness.
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[[Sikhism]] considers the ''atma'' (soul) to be part of Universal Soul, which is God ''(Parmatma).'' The Sikh holy book known as the "[[Guru Granth Sahib]]" contains various hymns that affirm the loving relationship between atma and God:
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:"God is in the Soul and the Soul is in the God."<ref>Guru Granth Sahib M 1, 1153.</ref>  
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* ''Ruach HaKodesh'' - a state of the soul that makes [[prophecy]] possible. Since the age of classical prophecy passed, no one receives the soul of prophecy any longer. 
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:"The soul is divine; divine is the soul. Worship Him with love."<ref>Guru Granth Sahib M 4, 1325.</ref>  
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:"The soul is the Lord, and the Lord is the soul; contemplating the Shabad, the Lord is found."<ref>Guru Granth Sahib M 1, 1030.</ref>
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* ''Neshamah Yeseira'' - The supplemental soul that a Jew experiences on [[Shabbat]]. It makes possible an enhanced spiritual enjoyment of the day. This exists only while one observes Shabbat; it can be lost and gained depending on one's observance.
 
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* ''Neshamah Kedosha'' - Provided to Jews at the age of majority (13 for boys, 12 for girls), and related to the study and fulfillment of the [[Torah]] commandments. It exists only when one studies and follows Torah; it can be lost and gained depending on one's study and observance.
 
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=== Sikh Belief ===
 
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Sikhism considers SOUL (atma) to be part of Universal Soul, which is GOD (Parmatma). Various hymns are cited from the holy book "[[Guru Granth Sahib|Aad Guru Granth Sahib]]" (AGGS) that suggests this belief. "God is in the Soul and the Soul is in the God."<ref>AGGS, M 1, p 1153.</ref> The same concept is repeated at various pages of the AGGS. For example: "The soul is divine; divine is the soul. Worship Him with love."<ref>AGGS, M 4, p 1325.</ref> and "The soul is the Lord, and the Lord is the soul; contemplating the Shabad, the Lord is found."<ref>AGGS, M 1, p 1030.</ref>
 
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===Daoist View===
 
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Most [[Daoism|Daoist]] schools believe that every individual has more than one soul (or the soul can be separated into different parts) and the souls are constantly transforming themselves.  Some believe there are at least three souls for every person: one soul coming from one's father, one from one's mother, and one primordial soul.  An important part of spiritual practice for some Taoist schools is to harmonize/integrate those three souls.
 
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Some other schools believe there are ten souls for each person: three from heaven, seven from earth.
 
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===An Ancient Cross-Cultural Belief===
 
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In [[Egyptian Mythology]], an individual was believed to be made up of various elements, some physical and some spiritual.
 
  
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These are the two parts which the ancient Chinese believed constitute every person's soul. The ''p‘o'' is the visible personality indissolubly attached to the body, while the ''hun'' is its more ethereal complement also interpenetrating the body, but not of necessity always tied to it. The hun in its wanderings may be either visible or invisible; if the former, it appears in the guise of its original body, which actually may be far away lying in a trance-like state tenanted by the p‘o. And not only is the body duplicated under these conditions, but also the garments that clothe it. Should the hun stay away permanently, death results.
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===Sundry beliefs===
 +
*The [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (Mormons) believe that the soul is the union of a spirit, which was previously created by God, and a body, which is formed by physical conception later.
 +
* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] view the Hebrew word ''NePHeSH'' in its literal concrete meaning of "breath," making a person who is animated by the spirit of God into a living BREATHER, rather than a body containing an invisible entity such as the majority concept of Soul. Spirit is seen to be anything powerful and invisible symbolized by the Hebrew word ''RuaCH'' which has the literal meaning of wind. Thus Soul is used by them to mean a person rather than an invisible core entity associated with a spirit or a force, which leaves the body at or after death. (Gen.2:7; Ezek.18:4, KJV). When a person dies his Soul leaves him meaning that he has stopped breathing and his fate for any future existence rests solely with God who they believe has the power to re-create the whole person and restore their existence. This is in line with their belief that Hell represents the grave and the possibility of eternal death for unbelievers rather than eternal torment.
  
 
==Contrary Ideas==
 
==Contrary Ideas==
  
 
===Buddhist beliefs===
 
===Buddhist beliefs===
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Buddhism teaches that all things are [[impermanence|impermanent]], in a constant state of flux; all is transient, and no abiding state exists by itself. This applies to humanity, as much as to anything else in the cosmos; thus, there is no unchanging and abiding self. Our sense of "I" or "me" is simply a sense, belonging to the ever-changing entity, that (conventionally speaking) is us, our body, and mind. This expresses in essence the Buddhist principle of ''anatta'' (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman).  
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Buddhism teaches that all things are [[Anitya|impermanent]], in a constant state of flux; all is transient, and no abiding state exists by itself. This applies to humanity, as much as to anything else in the cosmos; thus, there is no unchanging and abiding self. Our sense of "I" or "me" is simply a sense, belonging to the ever-changing entity, that (conventionally speaking) is us, our body, and mind. This expresses in essence the Buddhist principle of ''anatta'' (Pāli; Sanskrit: ''anātman'').  
  
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Buddhist teaching holds that the delusion of a permanent, abiding self is one of the main root causes for human conflict. They add that understanding of ''anatta'' (or "not-self or no soul") provides an accurate description of the human condition, and that this understanding allows "us" to go beyond "our" mundane desires. Buddhists can speak in conventional terms of the "self" as a matter of convenience, but only under the conviction that ultimately "we" are changing "entities". In death, the body and mind disintegrate; if the disintegrating mind is still in the grip of delusion, it will cause the continuity of the [[higher consciousness|consciousness]] to bounce back an arising mind to an awaiting being, that is, a fetus developing the ability to harbor consciousness.  
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Buddhist teaching holds that the delusion of a permanent, abiding self is one of the main root causes for human conflict. They add that understanding of ''anatta'' (or "not-self or no soul") provides an accurate description of the human condition, and that this understanding allows us to go beyond our mundane desires. Buddhists can speak in conventional terms of the "self" as a matter of convenience, but only under the conviction that ultimately we are changing entities. In death, the body and mind disintegrate; if the disintegrating mind is still in the grip of delusion, it will cause the continuity of the [[higher consciousness|consciousness]] to bounce back an arising mind to an awaiting being, that is, a fetus developing the ability to harbor consciousness.  
  
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However, there are scholars, such as [[Shirō Matsumoto]], who have noted a curious development in [[Mahayana]] Buddhist philosophy, stemming from the [[Cittamatra]] and [[Vijnanavada]] schools in [[India]]: although this school of thought denies the permanent personal selfhood, it affirms concepts such as [[Buddha-nature]], [[Tathagatagarbha]], [[Rigpa]], or "original nature".  Matsumoto argues that these concepts constitute a non- or trans-personal self, and almost equate in meaning to the Hindu concept of [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]], although they differ in that Buddha-nature does not incarnate.
+
However, some scholars have noted a curious development in [[Mahayana]] Buddhist philosophy, stemming from the [[Cittamatra]] and [[Vijnanavada]] schools in [[India]]: although this school of thought denies the permanent personal selfhood, it affirms concepts such as [[Buddha-nature]], [[Tathagatagarbha]], [[Rigpa]], or "original nature." Matsumoto argues that these concepts constitute a non- or trans-personal self, and almost equate in meaning to the Hindu concept of [[Atman]], although they differ in that Buddha-nature does not incarnate.  
  
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In some Mahayana Buddhist schools, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, the view is that there are 3 minds: ''Very-Subtle-Mind'', which isn't disintegrated in incarnation-death; ''Subtle-Mind'', which is disintegrated in death, and is "dreaming-mind" or "unconscious-mind"; and ''Gross-Mind''.  Gross-Mind doesn't exist when one is ''sleeping'', so it is more impermanent even than Subtle-Mind, which doesn't exist in death.  Very-Subtle-Mind, however, does continue, and when it "catches on" or coincides with phenomena again, a new Subtle-Mind emerges, with its own personality/assumptions/habits and ''that'' someone/entity experiences the karma on that continuum that is ripening then.
+
===Atheism and scientific skepticism ===
 +
[[Atheism|Atheists]] do not usually accept the existence of a soul. Modern skeptics often cite phenomena such as [[brain]] lesions<ref>For instance, Broca's aphasia</ref> and [[Alzheimer's disease]] as supposed evidence that one's personality is material and contrary to the philosophy of an immortal, unified soul.
  
−
One should note the polarity in [[Tibetan Buddhism]] between ''[[shes-pa]]'' (the principle of consciousness) and ''rig-pa'' (pure consciousness equal to Buddha-nature). The concept of a person as a ''[[tulku]]'' provides even more controversy. A ''tulku'' has, due to heroic austerities and esoteric training (or due to innate talent combined with great subtle-mind commitment in the moment of death), achieved the goal of transferring personal "identity" (or nature/commitment) from one rebirth to the next (for instance, Tibetans consider the [[Dalai Lama]] a ''tulku''). The mechanics behind this work as follows: although Buddha-nature does not incarnate, the individual self comprises ''[[skandha]]s'', or components, that undergo rebirth. For an ordinary person, ''skandhas'' cohere in a way that dissolves upon the person's death. So, elements of the transformed personality re-incarnate, but they lose the unity that constitutes personal selfhood for a specific person. In the case of ''tulkus'', however, they supposedly achieve sufficient "crystallization" of ''skandhas'' in such a manner that the ''skandhas'' do not entirely "disentangle" upon the ''tulku's'' death; rather, a directed reincarnation occurs. In this new birth, the ''tulku'' possesses a continuity of personal identity/commitment, rooted in the fact that the consciousness or ''shes-pa'' (which equates to a type of ''skandha'' called ''vijnana'') has not dissolved after death, but has sufficient durability to survive in repeated births. Since, however, subtle-mind emerges in incarnation, and gross-mind emerges in periods of sufficient awareness ''within'' some incarnations, there isn't really any contradiction: very-subtle-mind's original nature, that is irreducible mind / clarity whose function is knowing, doesn't have any "body", and the coarser minds that emerge "on" it while it drifts/wanders/dreams aren't continuous.  Any continuity of awareness achieved by tulku is simply a greater continuity than is achieved by/in a normal incarnation, as it continues across several, is only a difference of degree.
+
[[Science]] and [[medicine]] seek naturalistic accounts of the observable natural world. This stance is known as methodological naturalism.<ref>Lawrence Lerner, [https://answersinscience.org/MethodologicalNaturalism.htm Methodological Naturalism vs Ontological or Philosophical Naturalism] Retrieved July 14, 2023. </ref> From this perspective, for the soul to exist it would have to manifest as a form of [[energy]] mediated by a force. However, only four forces have been experimentally confirmed to exist ([[strong interaction]], [[weak interaction]], [[electromagnetism]] and [[gravitation]]). The only force which operates relevantly at the human scale is electromagnetism. This force is understood and described by [[Quantum Electrodynamics]] and [[Special Relativity]]. Any additional force acting upon humans or emanating from the mind would be detected in laboratories as an aberration of the predictable behavior of electromagnetism. Much of scientific study relating to the soul has been involved in investigating the soul as a human belief or as concept that shapes cognition and understanding of the world (see [[Memetics]]), rather than as an entity in and of itself.  
  
−
===Non-religious views===
+
When modern scientists speak of the soul outside of this cultural and psychological context, it is generally as a poetic synonym for ''mind.'' Francis Crick's book ''The Astonishing Hypothesis,'' for example, has the subtitle, "The scientific search for the soul."<ref>Francis Crick, ''Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul'' (Scribner, 1995, ISBN 978-0684801582).</ref> Crick holds the position that one can learn everything knowable about the human soul by studying the workings of the human brain. Depending on one's belief regarding the relationship between the soul and the mind, then, the findings of [[neuroscience]] may be relevant to one's understanding of the soul.
−
[[Atheism|Atheists]] and [[Humanism|humanists]] do not necessarily accept the existence of a soul. In fact, the majority of self-proclaimed atheists do not believe in a soul, more of simply human [[consciousness]].<ref>[http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/mind.html "SPIRIT, SOUL, AND MIND"], Frank R. Zindler, The Probing Mind, February 1985</ref>
 
  
−
====Research on the concept of the soul====
+
Nevertheless, in recent decades, much research has been done in [[near-death experiences]], which are held by many as evidence for the existence of a soul and afterlife. Researchers, most notably Ian Stevenson and Brian Weiss have studied reports of children talking about past-life experiences.<ref>Ian Stevenson, ''Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects'' (Praeger Publishers, 1997, ISBN 978-0275952839) and ''Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged'' (University Press of Virginia, 1980, ISBN 978-0813908724).</ref> Any evidence that these experiences were in fact real would require a change in scientific understanding of the mind or would support some notions of the soul.
 +
{{readout|Text in the article|right|250px|Researchers tried to weigh the soul by weighing patients who were dying}}
 +
During the late nineteenth and first half twentieth century, researchers attempted to weigh people who were known to be dying, and record their weight accurately at the time of death. As an example, Dr. Duncan MacDougall, in the early 1900s, sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed the body upon death. MacDougall weighed dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material and measurable. These experiments are widely considered to have had little if any [[scientific]] merit:
  
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In his book ''[[Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge|Consilience]]'', [[E. O. Wilson]] took note that [[sociology]] has identified [[belief]] in a soul as one of the universal human cultural elements. Wilson suggested that biologists need to investigate how human [[genes]] [[predisposition|predispose]] people to believe in a soul.
+
<blockquote>MacDougall's results were flawed because the methodology used to harvest them was suspect, the sample size far too small, and the ability to measure changes in weight imprecise. For this reason, credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams. His postulations on this topic are a curiosity, but nothing more.<ref>David Mikkelson, [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/weight-of-the-soul/ Was the Weight of a Human Soul Determined to Be 21 Grams?] ''Sonpes'' (October 26, 2003). Retrieved July 14, 2023. </ref></blockquote>
  
−
Daniel Dennett has championed the idea that the human survival strategy depends heavily on adoption of the intentional stance, a behavioral strategy that predicts the actions of others based on the expectation that they have a mind like one's own. Mirror neurons in brain regions such as Broca's area may facilitate this behavioral strategy. The intentional stance, Dennett suggests, has proven so successful that people tend to apply it to all aspects of human experience, thus leading to [[animism]] and to other conceptualizations of soul.  
+
==Origin of the Soul==
 +
The origin of the soul has provided a sometimes vexing question in Christianity; the major theories put forward include [[creationism]], [[traducianism]] and [[pre-existence]]. According to creationism, each individual soul is created directly by God, either at the moment of conception, or some later time (identical twins arise several cell divisions after conception, but no one would deny that they have whole souls). According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the pre-existence theory the soul exists before the moment of conception.
  
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A counterargument (from Keith Sutherland, among others) points out that just because the brain has regions that deal with colour and other aspects of vision, one does not argue that the genes produce an area to promote the illusion of a blue sky. By analogy, if there is a 'God sense' just as there is a sense of vision, it seems to argue for the objective existence of an extra-mundane reality.
+
According to the [[Roman Catholic Church]], every human being receives a soul at the moment of conception, and has rights and dignity equal to persons of further development, including the right to life. Thus, the Catholic Church teaches the creationist view of the origin of the soul: "The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God" (''Catechism of the Catholic Church,'' 382).
  
−
During the late 19th and first half 20th century, researchers attempted to weigh people who were known to be dying, and record their weight accurately at the time of death.  As an example, Dr. Duncan MacDougall, in the early 1900s, sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed the body upon death. MacDougall weighed dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material and measurable. These experiments are widely considered to have had little if any [[scientific]] merit, and although MacDougall's results varied considerably from 21 grams, for some people this figure has become synonymous with the measure of a soul's weight. Experiments such as MacDougall's have not been repeated with current precision equipment and research tools, and snopes.com concludes of one researcher that:
+
==Notes==
−
:''"MacDougall's results were flawed because the methodology used to harvest them was suspect, the sample size far too small, and the ability to measure changes in weight imprecise. For this reason, credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams. His postulations on this topic are a curiosity, but nothing more."<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp http://www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp]</ref>
 
−
 
 
−
Researchers, most notably Ian Stevenson and Brian Weiss have studied reports of children talking about past-life experiences.  Any evidence that these experiences were in fact real would require a change in scientific understanding of the mind or would support some notions of the soul.
 
−
 
 
−
In recent decades, much research has been done in [[near-death experiences]], which are held by  many as evidence for the existence of a soul and afterlife.
 
−
 
 
−
[[Science]] and [[medicine]] seek [[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalistic]] accounts of the observable natural world.  This stance is known as [[methodological naturalism]].<ref>[http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/MethodologicalNaturalism.htm]</ref> From the perspective of [[materialism]], for the soul to exist it would have to manifest as a form of [[energy]] mediated by a force. Only four forces have been experimentally confirmed to exist ([[strong interaction]], [[weak interaction]], [[electromagnetism]] and [[gravitation]]). The only force which operates relevantly at the human scale is electromagnetism. This force is fully understood and described by [[Quantum Electrodynamics]] and [[Special Relativity]]. Any additional force acting upon humans or emanating from the mind would have long ago been detected in laboratories as an aberration of the predictable behaviour of electromagnetism - and this has never been detected. Much of scientific study relating to the soul has been involved in investigating the soul as a human belief or as concept that shapes cognition and understanding of the world (see [[Memetics]]), rather than as an entity in and of itself. 
 
−
 
 
−
When modern scientists speak of the soul outside of this cultural and psychological context, it is generally as a poetic synonym for ''mind''.  Francis Crick's book ''The Astonishing Hypothesis'', for example, has the subtitle, "The scientific search for the soul." Crick holds the position that one can learn everything knowable about the human soul by studying the workings of the human brain.  Depending on one's belief regarding the relationship between the soul and the mind, then, the findings of [[neuroscience]] may be relevant to one's understanding of the soul.
 
−
 
 
−
An oft-encountered analogy is that the brain is to the mind as computer hardware is to computer software.  The idea of the mind as software has led some scientists to use the word "soul" to emphasize their belief that the human mind has powers beyond or at least qualitatively different from what artificial software can do.  Roger Penrose expounds this position in ''The Emperor's New Mind.''<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140145346/]</ref> He posits that the mind is in fact not like a computer as generally understood, but rather a quantum computer, that can do things impossible on a classical computer, such as decide the halting problem.  Some have located the soul in this possible difference between the mind and a classical computer.
 
−
 
 
−
== Notes ==
 
 
<references />
 
<references />
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
−
 
+
* Batchelor, Stephen. ''Buddhism Without Belief.'' Riverhead Trade, 1998. ISBN 978-1573226561  
−
* Batchelor, Stephen. ''Buddhism Without Belief'' Riverhead Trade, 1998. ISBN 978-1573226561  
+
* Bremmer, Jan. ''The Early Greek Concept of the Soul.'' Princeton University Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0691101903
−
* Bremmer, Jan. "The Early Greek Concept of the Soul" Princeton University Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0691101903
+
*Claus, David B. ''Toward the Soul: An Inquiry into the Meaning of ψυχή  before Plato.'' Yale University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0300020960
−
* Cornford, Francis, M. "Greek Religious Thought" Ams Pr Inc, 1979. ISBN 978-0404017347  
+
* Cornford, Francis, M. ''Greek Religious Thought.'' Ams Pr Inc, 1979. ISBN 978-0404017347  
−
* McGraw, John J. ''Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul'' Aegis Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0974764504  
+
*Crick, Francis. ''Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul.'' Scribner, 1995. ISBN 978-0684801582
−
* Milbourne, Christopher. ''Search for the Soul'' Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers, 1979. ISBN 978-0690017601  
+
* McGraw, John J. ''Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul.'' Aegis Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0974764504  
−
* Rohde, Erwin. ''Psyche'' Routledge, 2000. ISBN 978-0415225632  
+
* Milbourne, Christopher. ''Search for the Soul.'' Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers, 1979. ISBN 978-0690017601  
−
* Swinburne, Richard. ''The Evolution of the Soul'' Oxford University Press, 1997 ISBN 978-0198236986
+
* Rohde, Erwin. ''Psyche: the Cult Of Souls And Belief In Immortality Among The Greeks.'' Routledge, 2000. ISBN 978-0415225632  
−
* Stevenson, Ian. ''Reincarnation and Biology : A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects'' Praeger Publishers, 1997. ISBN 978-0275952839  
+
* Stevenson, Ian. ''Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects.'' Praeger Publishers, 1997. ISBN 978-0275952839  
−
* Stevenson, Ian "Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged." University Press of Virginia, 1980. ISBN 978-0813908724
+
* Stevenson, Ian. ''Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.'' University Press of Virginia, 1980. ISBN 978-0813908724
 +
* Swinburne, Richard. ''The Evolution of the Soul.'' Clarendon Press, 1997. ISBN 0198236980
 +
* von Rad, Gerhard. ''Old Testament Theology.'' Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0664224073
 +
* Wilson, Edward O. ''Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.'' New York: Vintage, 1999. ISBN 067976867X
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
* [http://www.spiritualnectar.com A community website for people to discuss Spiritual topics]www.spiritualnectar.com
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All links retrieved July 14, 2023.
−
* [http://www.thespiritual.org/files/editorial/editorialMain.htm A Glimpse into the Human Soul] An insightful article by Vivek Sharma (Editor: The Spiritual)
+
* [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/ Ancient Theories of the Soul] ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
−
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Ancient Theories of the Soul]
+
* [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/salvation/difference-between-a-soul-and-a-spirit.html What Is the Difference Between a Soul and a Spirit?] ''Christianity.com''
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* [http://www.chabad.org/k1499 The soul in Judaism] at [[Chabad.org]]
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* [https://www.vision.org/immortality-soul-149 On the Immortality of the Soul] by Stephen Elliott, ''Vision'' (Winter 2013).
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* [http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/V/VogelOTSoul/VogelOTSoul.pdf The Old Testament Concept of the Soul by Heinrich J. Vogel] (Christian)
+
* [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm Soul] ''Catholic Encyclopedia''
 +
* [http://www.humanreligions.info/souls.html What Do Religions Say About Souls?] ''Human Truth Foundation''
  
 
[[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category: Philosophy and religion]]

Latest revision as of 15:44, 14 July 2023

A depiction of an angel and a demon fighting for a man's soul as God watches above.

In many religious and philosophical systems, the word "soul" denotes the inner essence of a being comprising its locus of sapience (self-awareness) and metaphysical identity. Souls are usually described as immortal (surviving death in an afterlife) and incorporeal (without bodily form); however, some consider souls to have a material component, and have even tried to establish the mass (or weight) of the soul. Additionally, while souls are often described as immortal they are not necessarily eternal or indestructible, as is commonly assumed.[1]

Throughout history, the belief in the existence of a soul has been a common feature in most of the world's religions and cultures,[2] although some major religions (notably Buddhism) reject the notion of an eternal soul. Those not belonging to an organized religion still often believe in the existence of souls although some cultures posit more than one soul in each person. The metaphysical concept of a soul is often linked with ideas such as reincarnation, heaven, and hell.

The word "soul" can also refer to a type of modern music (see Soul Music).

Etymology

The modern English word soul derives from the Old English sáwol, sáwel, which itself comes from the Old High German sêula, sêla. The Germanic word is a translation of the Greek psychē (ψυχή- "life, spirit, consciousness") by missionaries such as Ulfila, apostle to the Goths (fourth century C.E.).

Definition

There is no universal agreement on the nature, origin, or purpose of the soul although there is much consensus that life, as we know it, does involve some deeper animating force inherent in all living beings (or at least in humans). In fact, the concept of an intrinsic life-force in all organisms has been a pervasive cross-cultural human belief.[3] Many preliterate cultures embraced notions of animism and shamanism postulating early ideas of the soul. Over time, philosophical reflection on the nature of the soul/spirit, and their relationship to the material world became more refined and sophisticated. In particular, the ancient Greeks and Hindu philosophers, for example, eventually distinguished different aspects of the soul, or alternatively, asserted the non-dualism of the cosmic soul.

Greek philosophers used many words for soul such as thymos, ker/kardie, phren/phrenes, menos, noos, and psyche.[4] Eventually, the Greeks differentiated between soul and spirit (psychē and pneuma respectively) and suggested that "aliveness" and the soul were conceptually linked.

However, it is not entirely clear that a single being had only one soul, as is often believed today. In fact, several ancient cultures such as the Egyptians and the Chinese posited that individual beings comprised of different souls (or had different elements in their soul). For instance, Egyptian mythology taught that an individual was made up of various elements, some physical and some spiritual, the Ren (name), the Bâ (personality), the Ka (vital spark), the Sheut (shadow), and the Jb (heart). Chinese tradition suggests that every individual has two types of soul called hun and po. Daoism considers there are ten elements to the soul: three hun and seven po.

It is also debated whether both animals and humans have souls, or only humans. In some systems of thought, souls are restricted to human beings while in other systems, souls encompass all life forms. These questions are often related to larger issues of creation and the relationship of the Creator to the created.

Consequently, the definition of a soul is not as straightforward as it may seem for it is confounded by issues of whether their is one soul or many, whether souls are pre-existent or created, and whether they are unified or separated, as well as their relationship to a divine being. For these reasons, it is impossible to come up with a universally recognized definition of a soul, although in popular spirituality souls are generally perceived to be the inner essence of a person that survives death and is essentially spiritual, although these views many not accord with scriptural teachings.

Philosophical Perspectives

Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience, whilst Plato points up to the heavens showing his belief in the ultimate truth.

Among Western philosophers, the ancient Greeks provided much insight into the nature of the soul. Two paradigmatic viewpoints were articulated by the philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Plato, drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, considered the soul as the essence of a person, which is an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As our bodies die the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. For Plato, the soul comprises three parts, each having a function in a balanced and peaceful life:

1. the logos (superego, mind, nous, or reason). The logos corresponds to the charioteer, directing the balanced horses of appetite and spirit. It allows for logic to prevail, and for the optimisation of balance

2. the thymos (emotion, ego, or spiritedness). The thymos comprises our emotional motive (ego), that which drives us to acts of bravery and glory. If left unchecked, it leads to hubris—the most fatal of all flaws in the Greek view.

3. the pathos (appetitive, id, or carnal). The pathos equates to the appetite (id) that drives humankind to seek out its basic bodily needs. When the passion controls us, it drives us to hedonism in all forms. In the Ancient Greek view, this is the basal and most feral state.

Although Aristotle agreed with Plato that the soul is the core essence of a being, he argued against its having a separate existence. Unlike Plato, Aristotle did not consider the soul as some kind of separate, ghostly occupant of the body. According to him, the soul is an actuality of a living body, and thus it cannot be immortal.[5] Aristotle describes this concept of the soul in many of his works such as the De Anima. He believed that there were four parts, or powers, of the soul: the calculative part, the scientific part on the rational side used for making decisions and the desiderative part and the vegetative part on the irrational side responsible for identifying our needs.

Pre-Pythagorean belief was that the soul had no life when it departed from the body, and retired into Hades with no hope of returning to a body.[6]

Religious views

An alphabetical survey of some religious views on the soul is provided below:

Bahá'í beliefs

The principle figure of the Bahá'í Faith, known as Bahá'u'lláh, taught that individuals have no existence previous to their life here on earth. A human being spends nine months in the womb in preparation for entry into this physical life. During that nine-month period, the fetus acquires the physical tools (e.g., eyes, limbs, and so forth) necessary for existence in this world. He said that similarly, this physical world is like a womb for entry into the spiritual world.[7] Our time here is thus a period of preparation during which we are to acquire the spiritual and intellectual tools necessary for life in the next world. The crucial difference is that, whereas physical development in the mother's womb is involuntary, spiritual and intellectual development in this world depends strictly on conscious individual effort.[7] The soul's evolution is always towards God and away from the material world.

Chinese beliefs

The ancient Chinese believed that every person's soul consisted of at least two distinct parts: p'o and hun. The p‘o is the visible personality indissolubly attached to the body, while the hun was its more ethereal complement also interpenetrating the body, but not of necessity tied to it. The hun in its wanderings may be either visible or invisible; if the former, it appears in the guise of its original body, which actually may be far away lying in a trance-like state tenanted by the p‘o. Furthermore, the body is duplicated under these conditions, but also the garments that clothe it. Should the hun stay away permanently, death results.

Most Daoist schools believe that every individual has more than one soul (or the soul can be separated into different parts) and these souls are constantly transforming themselves. Some believe there are at least three souls for every person: one soul coming from one's father, one from one's mother, and one primordial soul. An important part of spiritual practice for some Taoist schools is to harmonize/integrate those three souls.

Some other schools believe there are ten souls for each person: three from heaven, seven from earth.

Christian beliefs

Some Christians regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human - the seat or locus of human will, understanding, and personality - and that after death, God either rewards or punishes the soul. (Different groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in Jesus.) Other Christians reject the idea of the immortality of the soul, citing the Apostles Creed's reference to the "resurrection of the body" (the Greek word for body is soma, which implies the whole person, not sarx, the term for flesh or corpse). They consider the soul to be the life force, which ends in death and is restored in the resurrection. In this theory, the soul goes to "sleep" at the time of death, and stays in this quiescent state until the last judgment. However, other Christians that believe the soul will be destroyed in hell, instead of suffering eternally.[8]

One of the main issues is whether the body and soul are separate or there is unity, and whether they remain so after death. In popular thinking, it is often presumed that the soul survives death separate from the body but scriptural analysis suggests that the resurrected person involves both body and soul together and unified. Seventh-Day Adventists believe that the main definition of the term "Soul" is a combination of Spirit (breath of life) and body, defying the view that the soul has a consciousness or sentient existence of its own. They affirm this through Genesis 2:7 "And (God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Yet, other passages from the Bible seem to contradict this view. For example, "Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief." The soul and body are noted as separate. Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Here the body and soul are noted as separate again. Micah 6:7 "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Once again, the soul and body are noted separate.

Augustine, one of the most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body." The apostle Paul said that the "body wars against" the soul, and that "I buffet my body," to keep it under control. Saint Thomas Aquinas understood the soul as the first principle, or act, of the body. However, his epistemological theory required that, since the intellectual soul is capable of knowing all material things, and since in order to know a material thing there must be no material thing within it, the soul was definitely not corporeal. Therefore, the soul had an operation separate from the body and therefore could subsist without the body. Furthermore, since the rational soul of human beings was subsistent and was not made up of matter and form, it could not be destroyed in any natural process. The full argument for the immortality of the soul and Thomas's elaboration of Aristotelian theory is found in Question 75 of the Summa Theologica.

The present Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the soul as "the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: 'soul' signifies the spiritual principle in man." The soul is the center of the human will, intellect (or mind), and imagination (or memory), and the source of all free human acts, although good acts are aided by God's grace. At the moment of death, the soul goes either to Purgatory, Heaven, or Hell. Purgatory is a place of atonement for sins that one goes through to pay the temporal punishment for post-baptismal sins that have not been atoned for by sufferings during one's earthly life. This is distinct from the atonement for the eternal punishment due to sin which was affected by Christ's suffering and death. Eastern Orthodox views are very similar to Catholic views while Protestants generally believe both in the soul's existence but do not generally believe in Purgatory.

Hindu beliefs

In Hinduism, several Sanskrit words are used to denote the "soul" within living beings. These words include "Jiva" (individual soul), "Atman" (intrinsic divine essence), and "Purusha" (spirit), among others. Hinduism contains many variant beliefs on the origin, purpose, and fate of the soul. For example, Advaita (non-dualism) accords the soul union with Brahman (the Absolute) in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. Dvaita (dualism) rejects this position, instead identifying the soul as a different and incompatible substance.

The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most significant Hindu scriptures, refers to the spiritual body or soul as Purusha (see also Sankhya philosophy). The Purusha is part and parcel of God, is unchanging (is never born and never dies), is indestructible, and, though essentially indivisible, can be described as having three characteristics: (i)' 'Sat (truth or existence), (ii) Chit (consciousness or knowledge), and (iii) Ananda (bliss).

Islamic beliefs

The Qur'an does not explain much about the concept of the soul. However, the following information can be inferred. According to the Holy Qur'an (Sura 15 verse 29), the creation of man involves Allah or an Angel of Allah "breathing" a soul into man. This intangible part of an individual's existence is "pure" at birth and has the potential of growing and achieving nearness to God if the person leads a righteous life. At death the person's soul transitions to an eternal afterlife of bliss, peace and unending spiritual growth (Qur’an 66:8, 39:20). This transition can be pleasant (Heaven) or unpleasant (Hell) depending on the degree to which a person has developed or destroyed his or her soul during life (Qur’an 91:7-10).

Thus, it is generally believed that all living beings are comprised of two aspects during their existence: the physical (being the body) and the non-physical (being the soul). The non-physical aspect, namely the soul, includes his/her feelings and emotions, thoughts, conscious and sub-conscious desires and objectives. While the body and its physical actions are said to serve as a “reflection” of one’s soul, whether it is good or evil, thus confirming the extent of such intentions.

Jain beliefs

According to Jainism, Soul (jiva) exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the body that houses it. Every being – be it a human or a plant or a bacterium – has a soul and has a capacity to experience pain and pleasure. The soul (Jiva) is differentiated from non-soul or non-living reality (ajiva) that includes matter, time, space, principle of motion and principle of rest.

As realization of the soul and its salvation are the highest objective to be attained, most of the Jaina texts deal with various aspects of the soul (i.e., its qualities, attributes, bondage, interaction with other elements, salvation etc.). The soul is described as being without taste, color and cannot be perceived by the five senses. Consciousness is its chief attribute. To know the soul is to be free of any gender and not bound by any dimensions of shape and size. Hence the soul, according to Jainism, is indestructible and permanent from the point of view of substance. It is temporary and ever changing from the point of view of its modes. The soul continuously undergoes modifications as per the karma it attracts and hence reincarnates in the following four states of existence - 1) as a Demi-God in Heaven, or 2) as a tormented soul in Hell, or 3) as a Human being on Continents, or 4) as an Animal, or a Plant, or as a Micro-organism. The soul will remain in bondage until it attains liberation. The liberated soul, which is formless and incorporeal in nature, is said to experience infinite knowledge, omniscience, infinite power and infinite bliss after liberation. Even after liberation and attainment of Godhood, the soul does not merge into any entity (as in other philosophies), but maintains its individuality.

Jewish beliefs

According to the Hebrew Bible, the origin of the soul is described in the Book of Genesis, which states "the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7 New JPS). In other books of the Tanakh, Rachel's death in Genesis 35:18 equates with her soul (Hebrew nephesh) departing. Later, when Elijah prays in 1 Kings 17:21 for the return of a widow's boy to life, he entreats, "O Lord my God, I pray you, let this child's nephesh come into him again." Thus, death in the Torah meant that something called nephesh (or "soul") became separated from the body, and life could return when this soul returned. Classical rabbinic literature provided various commentaries on the Torah, which elucidated the nature of the soul. For example, Saadia Gaon, in his Emunoth ve-Deoth 6:3, held that the soul comprises that part of a person's mind that constitutes physical desire, emotion, and thought. Maimonides, in his The Guide to the Perplexed, viewed the soul through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy, as a person's developed intellect.

Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) saw the soul as having three elements: the nephesh, ru'ah, and neshamah. A common way of explaining these three parts follows:

  • Nephesh - The part that is alive and signifies that which is vital in man: it feels hunger, hates, loves, loathes, weeps, and most importantly, can die (can depart from the body, but can sometimes come back in again). The nephesh is in all humans and enters the body at birth when the body first takes a breath. Animals also have a nephesh (they breathe), but plants do not. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature.[9]

The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually:

  • Ruach - the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In modern parlance, it equates to psyche or ego-personality.
  • Neshamah - the higher soul, Higher Self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God. In the Zohar, after death, the Nefesh disintegrates, Ruach is sent to a sort of intermediate zone where it is submitted to purification and enters in "temporary paradise," while Neshamah returns to the source, the world of Platonic ideas, where it enjoys "the kiss of the beloved." Supposedly after resurrection, Ruach and Neshamah, soul and spirit re-unite in a permanently transmuted state of being.

The Raaya Meheimna, a Kabbalistic tractate always published with the Zohar, posits two more parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah. Gershom Scholem wrote that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals":

  • Chayyah - The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.
  • Yehidah - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.

Sikh beliefs

Sikhism considers the atma (soul) to be part of Universal Soul, which is God (Parmatma). The Sikh holy book known as the "Guru Granth Sahib" contains various hymns that affirm the loving relationship between atma and God:

"God is in the Soul and the Soul is in the God."[10]
"The soul is divine; divine is the soul. Worship Him with love."[11]
"The soul is the Lord, and the Lord is the soul; contemplating the Shabad, the Lord is found."[12]

Sundry beliefs

  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that the soul is the union of a spirit, which was previously created by God, and a body, which is formed by physical conception later.
  • Jehovah's Witnesses view the Hebrew word NePHeSH in its literal concrete meaning of "breath," making a person who is animated by the spirit of God into a living BREATHER, rather than a body containing an invisible entity such as the majority concept of Soul. Spirit is seen to be anything powerful and invisible symbolized by the Hebrew word RuaCH which has the literal meaning of wind. Thus Soul is used by them to mean a person rather than an invisible core entity associated with a spirit or a force, which leaves the body at or after death. (Gen.2:7; Ezek.18:4, KJV). When a person dies his Soul leaves him meaning that he has stopped breathing and his fate for any future existence rests solely with God who they believe has the power to re-create the whole person and restore their existence. This is in line with their belief that Hell represents the grave and the possibility of eternal death for unbelievers rather than eternal torment.

Contrary Ideas

Buddhist beliefs

Buddhism teaches that all things are impermanent, in a constant state of flux; all is transient, and no abiding state exists by itself. This applies to humanity, as much as to anything else in the cosmos; thus, there is no unchanging and abiding self. Our sense of "I" or "me" is simply a sense, belonging to the ever-changing entity, that (conventionally speaking) is us, our body, and mind. This expresses in essence the Buddhist principle of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman).

Buddhist teaching holds that the delusion of a permanent, abiding self is one of the main root causes for human conflict. They add that understanding of anatta (or "not-self or no soul") provides an accurate description of the human condition, and that this understanding allows us to go beyond our mundane desires. Buddhists can speak in conventional terms of the "self" as a matter of convenience, but only under the conviction that ultimately we are changing entities. In death, the body and mind disintegrate; if the disintegrating mind is still in the grip of delusion, it will cause the continuity of the consciousness to bounce back an arising mind to an awaiting being, that is, a fetus developing the ability to harbor consciousness.

However, some scholars have noted a curious development in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, stemming from the Cittamatra and Vijnanavada schools in India: although this school of thought denies the permanent personal selfhood, it affirms concepts such as Buddha-nature, Tathagatagarbha, Rigpa, or "original nature." Matsumoto argues that these concepts constitute a non- or trans-personal self, and almost equate in meaning to the Hindu concept of Atman, although they differ in that Buddha-nature does not incarnate.

Atheism and scientific skepticism

Atheists do not usually accept the existence of a soul. Modern skeptics often cite phenomena such as brain lesions[13] and Alzheimer's disease as supposed evidence that one's personality is material and contrary to the philosophy of an immortal, unified soul.

Science and medicine seek naturalistic accounts of the observable natural world. This stance is known as methodological naturalism.[14] From this perspective, for the soul to exist it would have to manifest as a form of energy mediated by a force. However, only four forces have been experimentally confirmed to exist (strong interaction, weak interaction, electromagnetism and gravitation). The only force which operates relevantly at the human scale is electromagnetism. This force is understood and described by Quantum Electrodynamics and Special Relativity. Any additional force acting upon humans or emanating from the mind would be detected in laboratories as an aberration of the predictable behavior of electromagnetism. Much of scientific study relating to the soul has been involved in investigating the soul as a human belief or as concept that shapes cognition and understanding of the world (see Memetics), rather than as an entity in and of itself.

When modern scientists speak of the soul outside of this cultural and psychological context, it is generally as a poetic synonym for mind. Francis Crick's book The Astonishing Hypothesis, for example, has the subtitle, "The scientific search for the soul."[15] Crick holds the position that one can learn everything knowable about the human soul by studying the workings of the human brain. Depending on one's belief regarding the relationship between the soul and the mind, then, the findings of neuroscience may be relevant to one's understanding of the soul.

Nevertheless, in recent decades, much research has been done in near-death experiences, which are held by many as evidence for the existence of a soul and afterlife. Researchers, most notably Ian Stevenson and Brian Weiss have studied reports of children talking about past-life experiences.[16] Any evidence that these experiences were in fact real would require a change in scientific understanding of the mind or would support some notions of the soul.

Did you know?
Researchers tried to weigh the soul by weighing patients who were dying

Text in the article

During the late nineteenth and first half twentieth century, researchers attempted to weigh people who were known to be dying, and record their weight accurately at the time of death. As an example, Dr. Duncan MacDougall, in the early 1900s, sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed the body upon death. MacDougall weighed dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material and measurable. These experiments are widely considered to have had little if any scientific merit:

MacDougall's results were flawed because the methodology used to harvest them was suspect, the sample size far too small, and the ability to measure changes in weight imprecise. For this reason, credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams. His postulations on this topic are a curiosity, but nothing more.[17]

Origin of the Soul

The origin of the soul has provided a sometimes vexing question in Christianity; the major theories put forward include creationism, traducianism and pre-existence. According to creationism, each individual soul is created directly by God, either at the moment of conception, or some later time (identical twins arise several cell divisions after conception, but no one would deny that they have whole souls). According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the pre-existence theory the soul exists before the moment of conception.

According to the Roman Catholic Church, every human being receives a soul at the moment of conception, and has rights and dignity equal to persons of further development, including the right to life. Thus, the Catholic Church teaches the creationist view of the origin of the soul: "The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 382).

Notes

  1. ↑ Philosophically, the concepts of immortality and eternalism are often confounded: Eternalism of the soul implies the pre-existence of the soul before birth; however, some systems teach that a soul is created at birth (or at conception) and becomes immortal thereafter.
  2. ↑ In his book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, biologist E. O. Wilson took note that sociology has identified belief in a soul as one of the universal human cultural elements.
  3. ↑ Of course, the tradition of skepticism has been an equally ancient belied found in all cultures, and co-existing with the belief in a soul.
  4. ↑ David B. Claus, Toward the Soul: An Inquiry into the Meaning of ψυχή before Plato (Yale University Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0300020960) cf. Jan Bremmer, The Early Greek Concept of the Soul (Princeton University Press, 1983, ISBN 978-0691101903).
  5. ↑ There is on-going debate about Aristotle's views regarding the immortality of the human soul; however, Aristotle makes it clear towards the end of his De Anima that he does believe that the intellect, which he considers to be a part of the soul, is eternal and separable from the body.
  6. ↑ Erwin Rohde, Psyche: the Cult Of Souls And Belief In Immortality Among The Greeks (Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415225632).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahai Reference Library. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ See, for example, the Bible verse: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
  9. ↑ Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0664224073).
  10. ↑ Guru Granth Sahib M 1, 1153.
  11. ↑ Guru Granth Sahib M 4, 1325.
  12. ↑ Guru Granth Sahib M 1, 1030.
  13. ↑ For instance, Broca's aphasia
  14. ↑ Lawrence Lerner, Methodological Naturalism vs Ontological or Philosophical Naturalism Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ Francis Crick, Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul (Scribner, 1995, ISBN 978-0684801582).
  16. ↑ Ian Stevenson, Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects (Praeger Publishers, 1997, ISBN 978-0275952839) and Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged (University Press of Virginia, 1980, ISBN 978-0813908724).
  17. ↑ David Mikkelson, Was the Weight of a Human Soul Determined to Be 21 Grams? Sonpes (October 26, 2003). Retrieved July 14, 2023.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Batchelor, Stephen. Buddhism Without Belief. Riverhead Trade, 1998. ISBN 978-1573226561
  • Bremmer, Jan. The Early Greek Concept of the Soul. Princeton University Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0691101903
  • Claus, David B. Toward the Soul: An Inquiry into the Meaning of ψυχή before Plato. Yale University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0300020960
  • Cornford, Francis, M. Greek Religious Thought. Ams Pr Inc, 1979. ISBN 978-0404017347
  • Crick, Francis. Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. Scribner, 1995. ISBN 978-0684801582
  • McGraw, John J. Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul. Aegis Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0974764504
  • Milbourne, Christopher. Search for the Soul. Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers, 1979. ISBN 978-0690017601
  • Rohde, Erwin. Psyche: the Cult Of Souls And Belief In Immortality Among The Greeks. Routledge, 2000. ISBN 978-0415225632
  • Stevenson, Ian. Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects. Praeger Publishers, 1997. ISBN 978-0275952839
  • Stevenson, Ian. Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. University Press of Virginia, 1980. ISBN 978-0813908724
  • Swinburne, Richard. The Evolution of the Soul. Clarendon Press, 1997. ISBN 0198236980
  • von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology. Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0664224073
  • Wilson, Edward O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New York: Vintage, 1999. ISBN 067976867X

External links

All links retrieved July 14, 2023.

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