A Summarized Answer To Do We Have A Soul?

By Leslie Ball


The desire to understand human nature and existence fuels the debate on the soul and its relationship to the body. Its location and function are issues worth evaluating. The debate started long ago with Aristotle and Plato trying to explain its fate when a person dies. So, do we have a soul? Let us take the next few paragraphs to find an answer.

Other names used to describe the concept of the soul are mind and spirit. Their similarity lies in the fact that they are both untouchable and invisible. However, the mind is said to refer more to intelligence with the spirit dealing with feelings. The search for an answer has sucked in biologists, metaphysics and religion.

According to different religious believes the spirit enters the body at creation and comes from God. The bible records that God breathe life into the molded clay. This is translated to be point where human beings draw their spirit from. As such, it lives and defines a person for the duration he or she is alive. It is the carrier of principles of morality and therefore is rewarded or condemned for good or bad deeds by God in the afterlife.

Early philosophers differed on its fate upon death. Plato thought that it only resided in the body and left at death. Aristotle claimed that it died as well and thus denying it existence afterwards. Whichever direction one takes, it is clear that they agree on existence.

The puzzle on souls or spirits deepens when one considers if animals possess souls. Do animals think and feel just like human beings and if they do, what gives them the capacity? Can souls be equated to life or is there any difference? Though animals are considered to be less intelligent, their existence follows almost a similar path to that of humans. They are born, they live and die. Is it possible that they have souls too?

Biologists contend that the human body is not just physical cells. They identify a third dimension that creates a difference between the living and the dead. According to their discussion, this third dimension could be what gives human existence the element of life. Their discussion is informed by the intangible and invisible nature of what defines human existence beyond brain impulse.

The fate of souls and how they find their way into bodies is another point of discussion. According to religious teachings, souls come from God with a responsibility to guide morality. They also control the enjoyment of pleasure and guilt feeling. This could therefore be the element that sets human beings apart from animals. This is an indirect confirmation of existence.

The existence of souls is not in doubt regardless of the theory one uses to explain it. By stitching the theories together, souls appear to be the defining factor in human existence and the instructor to be rational and considerate to humanity. The debate is when it enters the body, when it exits and its fate at death. The conclusion that souls exist in humanity is therefore confirmed.




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