Soul Searching
The human soul has been sought after, debated, and speculated about for over 4000 years. Widely differing views of the soul are the cause of great dispute over issues such as abortion, the right to die, organ donation, stem cell research, genetic engineering, and cloning. What exactly is, if anything, is the soul? Where is it located? Where does it come from? What happens to it when we die? Scientists, theologians, and philosophers have pursued the answers to these questions throughout time, yet we are no closer to understanding the soul than we were 4000 years ago.
Prior to the sixth century B.C. the soul was primarily associated with death or dying (Hendrik, 2003). It was believed that when a person died their soul parted from their body and traveled to the underworld, where it remained as a shadow image of the person that once was. Although loosing one’s soul meant the end of life, not much speculation was given to how the soul was connected to a person while they were alive. The idea that we each have some kind of ‘essence’ that makes us the individual that we are began to be explored in ancient Greece during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. The concept of ‘soul’ began as a broad concept, thought of as that which gives something life. It was considered to be responsible for all the vital functions a living organism performs, including thought, perception, desire, and emotions, as well as contained the virtues and moral qualities of the individual. A person’s character was often attributed to the condition of their soul. A strong and courageous person, especially one who came out of a battle undefeated, was believed to have a strong soul; likewise a weak soul would create a weak individual (Hendrik, 2003).
Socrates was the first philosopher to assign a great deal of importance to the human soul. His philosophy equated the quality and goodness of one’s life with the condition of their soul. The soul, he claims, is what animates our body until
Prior to the sixth century B.C. the soul was primarily associated with death or dying (Hendrik, 2003). It was believed that when a person died their soul parted from their body and traveled to the underworld, where it remained as a shadow image of the person that once was. Although loosing one’s soul meant the end of life, not much speculation was given to how the soul was connected to a person while they were alive. The idea that we each have some kind of ‘essence’ that makes us the individual that we are began to be explored in ancient Greece during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. The concept of ‘soul’ began as a broad concept, thought of as that which gives something life. It was considered to be responsible for all the vital functions a living organism performs, including thought, perception, desire, and emotions, as well as contained the virtues and moral qualities of the individual. A person’s character was often attributed to the condition of their soul. A strong and courageous person, especially one who came out of a battle undefeated, was believed to have a strong soul; likewise a weak soul would create a weak individual (Hendrik, 2003).
Socrates was the first philosopher to assign a great deal of importance to the human soul. His philosophy equated the quality and goodness of one’s life with the condition of their soul. The soul, he claims, is what animates our body until
References: Alcore, (2005). Retrieved Jul. 24, 2005, from Cryonics at Alcore Web site: www.Alcore.org. Eberl, J Retrieved Jul 20, 2005, from http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=3157351 Hendrik, L. (2003). Ancient theories of soul. Retrieved Jul. 6, 2005, from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Web site: History of Neurosciences, 10. Retrieved Jul 6, 2005, from http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&an=11446265&tg=PM Roach, M. (2003). Stiff. 1st ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Roberts, E