What is a Soul?
The soul is often thought of as the true essence of a person. It’s the part of us that is eternal and beyond just our physical body. It’s what makes us unique and connects us to something bigger than ourselves. spiritual framework.
Evidence of a Soul:
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Subjective Experience: The existence of inner, personal experiences like feelings and consciousness, which seem distinct from physical brain processes.
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Personal Identity: The enduring sense of "self" that persists despite constant physical changes in the body and brain.
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Free Will: The perception of having choices and agency, suggesting a capacity for action beyond purely physical determinism.
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Moral Sense: The presence of an internal compass that guides ethical behavior, often overriding immediate self-interest.
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Mathematical Resonance: The remarkable alignment between abstract mathematical concepts and the fundamental structure of the universe, implying a connection between mind and reality.
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Our minds conjure abstract, metaphysical concepts, and yet, our invented math perfectly mirrors the universe. This suggests a connection to a deeper reality, hinting that our souls, like the universe's mathematical precision, hold a profound and mysterious eternal aspect.
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Abstract Thought: Our ability to grasp immaterial concepts points to an immaterial mind.
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Universal Concepts: The ability to understand undestroyable concepts, implies an undestroyable understander.
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Scripture: Religious texts assert the soul's existence as a fundamental truth.
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NDEs: Near-death experiences suggest a consciousness separate from the physical body.
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Religious experience: Personal encounters with the divine reinforce belief in a soul.
So, what Is the Soul, really?
The truth is, no one knows for sure.
Understanding of Being and the Soul
Arguments for the existence of the soul based on the sources:
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The soul is the principle of life: The soul is what makes a living thing alive and accounts for its dynamism and activities. It's the first act of an organized body with the potential for life.
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Soul as the form of the body (Hylomorphism): The soul is the form that gives shape and organization to the matter of the body, making a human being what it is.
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Hierarchy of souls and unique human reason: Humans have a rational soul, distinct from the vegetative souls of plants and the sensory souls of animals, characterized by intelligence and reason (intellect and will).
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Immateriality of the intellect:
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Thinking about something (like a dog) doesn't physically transform the brain into that thing, suggesting the intellect has an immaterial aspect.
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We can conceive of immaterial universals, which reside in the mind, implying the mind is also immaterial.
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The intellect's ability to abstract universal concepts from particular experiences indicates a power beyond material limitations.
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The operations of intellect and will transcend the physical brain; intellect has a per se operation of knowing.
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Immortality of the soul: Because the rational soul's operation (intellect) transcends the material body and is immaterial, it does not naturally perish with the body.
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Evidence from Near-Death Experiences (NDEs): Reports of consciousness and perception occurring during clinical death, including blind individuals reporting sight, suggest a transphysical soul capable of existing independently of the body.
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Transcendental Desires: The inherent human desires for perfect truth, love, justice/goodness, beauty, and home imply a connection to a transcendent reality and a soul capable of recognizing these perfections.
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Uniqueness of Human Language (Universal Grammar): The unique human capacity for complex syntax and communication, appearing suddenly in history, suggests a fundamental difference rooted in the soul.
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Conceptual vs. Perceptual Ideas: The human ability to form abstract, relational conceptual ideas and utilize heuristic notions goes beyond the perceptual abilities of animals, pointing to a higher intellectual faculty of the soul.
Is The Soul Real? A Neurosurgeon Explores The Evidence
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Soul vs. Brain: Some individuals function normally despite missing large portions of their brains, challenging materialist views.
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Penfield’s Free Will Research: Abstract thought and reasoning cannot be triggered by brain stimulation, implying they originate beyond the brain.
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Split-Brain Studies: Severed brain hemispheres still integrate information, suggesting consciousness is unified beyond physical structures.
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Persistent Awareness in Coma: Some patients in deep coma states show signs of understanding and cognition, supporting consciousness beyond brain function.
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Near-Death Experiences (NDEs): Verifiable cases indicate consciousness can persist even when the brain is non-functional.
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Soul as Hybrid Entity: The soul combines physical and non-physical aspects, linking intellect, reason, and free will to a deeper reality.
The Human Soul is "Terribly Real"
What is the Soul?
Skeptical about the soul in our scientific age? This video explores St. Thomas Aquinas's perspective, arguing that the soul is the form of the body, defining what it means to be human. Aquinas sees humans as embodied souls, unified beings where the soul gives life to the body. The soul animates the body as its life force, and its existence is understood through the actions of living things. Discover Aquinas's argument for one soul per living being, viewing it not as a separate entity but as the principle distinguishing life from non-life.