The soul is a concept. There is no scientific proof that a soul exists. However, persons of religious faiths believe that humans, or living carbon based life forms, possess a soul. But what is a soul? One tends to be skeptical of concepts that are far-fetched, which cannot be proven by scientific evidence. However, empirical evidence from individuals reporting encounters with a soul may provide enough proof to substantiate the belief in a soul’s existence. Perhaps, in thinking like a scientist, a few thought provoking questions can be addressed with respect to one’s spiritual beliefs about possessing a soul.
There are many questions about souls, the first one being, “What is a soul?” According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of soul is “the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life” and “the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe” (n.d.). The soul is not tangible. A person, or work of art is thought to have soul. One cannot bottle and sell soul. Soul is a concept, an idea. One could sell their soul.
Secondly, do souls exist? Who came up with the idea of soul? Should whoever introduced the concept of soul be believed that a soul exists? Humans have not explained how a soul works when a person is born, or when a person dies. Do souls enter and exit one’s body? If so, does a soul have free will choosing where it goes? If souls have free will to enter and exit bodies, there would be competition for resources. There is a spiritual belief in reincarnation, in which one does not die, but one becomes reborn with its soul, or spirit entering another body. Does a soul have a suitcase like shell to carry its memories, if that soul had a previous life? How do souls travel in and out of bodies to be reborn? Do they float, or fly around like spirits, or ghosts portrayed in movies and television, or is that representation merely a conjured up image from Hollywood for entertainment purposes? How exactly do souls connect with a body, and how are they separated from that body when it expires? When the human body dies, it ceases to exist as a living being. Do souls die?
Thirdly, where are souls located? Are they inside of the body, or are they integrated as a body and soul connection? Is the soul the mind, the conscious energy that the brain produces with curiosity leading to thought provoking questions including: what is existence of everything? Do souls coexist with material bodies, or are they hanging out above the body looking into the human experience as a higher self, or conscience? Are souls the conscious awareness of one’s human existence? If so, the soul could be also known as the mind, due to its ability to have feelings such as empathy with a moral code to live by. It is possible that a soul is located in thought, within the subatomic particles that are not visible to the human eye. Perhaps a microscope so powerful that it can see beyond subatomic particles of thought could locate a soul. Perhaps soul is beyond comprehension, smaller, or vaster than one can imagine.
If every living human being, or any living being, possesses a soul, it is possible to run out of souls. The population of the planet has increased significantly since the dawn of time. There would need to be a soul vault of some sort, a waiting place for souls to be connected with living organic tissue. Are souls waiting in the cloud with iTunes music and Word documents, waiting to be connected with a living body? If there were one soul connected with each living body, there would eventually be no souls left, thus making a percentage of the population born without a soul, which could explain why individuals can appear to have no soul. Another concept to consider is that due to supply and demand, souls may need to be split, to accommodate the increasing size of the population. Sharing a soul with another being can explain the concept of a soul mate. Thus one would share a soul with another living being in however souls can be divided. If souls are divided, are there equal portions, or does one being get more soul than the other? If souls are split, are there smaller souls, or do souls come in different sizes? This brings up the question of how large a soul is, or how to measure a soul.
Perhaps a soul is something that exists in the mind of curious human beings, who are not satisfied with the idea that when their human body dies, that is the end of their life. We as humans, have the need to feel eternal. The concept of soul gives a person validation, knowing that they will never truly die, that their soul will exist for eternity. If there are eternal souls, where are they? If we in fact, as human beings, possess a soul, where do souls come from? Are they manufactured, or have they existed before humans inhabited the planet earth? This is a question that proposes another question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” (Fabry, 2016). Which came first, the body, or the soul?
After pondering the existence of soul, there are no conclusions, only more unanswered questions. Whether one believes in souls is an individual’s choice, as an act of free will to just believe. Perhaps the choice to believe in a soul while questioning one’s existence through the concept of soul is enough to satisfy human curiosity.
References
Merriam-Webster (n.d.). Soul. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul
Fabry, M. (2016). Now You Know: Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? Retrieved from https://time.com/4475048/which-came-first-chicken-egg/#:~:text=It%20was%20Plutarch%20who%20gave,you%20suppose%20to%20be%20a
There are many questions about souls, the first one being, “What is a soul?” According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of soul is “the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life” and “the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe” (n.d.). The soul is not tangible. A person, or work of art is thought to have soul. One cannot bottle and sell soul. Soul is a concept, an idea. One could sell their soul.
Secondly, do souls exist? Who came up with the idea of soul? Should whoever introduced the concept of soul be believed that a soul exists? Humans have not explained how a soul works when a person is born, or when a person dies. Do souls enter and exit one’s body? If so, does a soul have free will choosing where it goes? If souls have free will to enter and exit bodies, there would be competition for resources. There is a spiritual belief in reincarnation, in which one does not die, but one becomes reborn with its soul, or spirit entering another body. Does a soul have a suitcase like shell to carry its memories, if that soul had a previous life? How do souls travel in and out of bodies to be reborn? Do they float, or fly around like spirits, or ghosts portrayed in movies and television, or is that representation merely a conjured up image from Hollywood for entertainment purposes? How exactly do souls connect with a body, and how are they separated from that body when it expires? When the human body dies, it ceases to exist as a living being. Do souls die?
Thirdly, where are souls located? Are they inside of the body, or are they integrated as a body and soul connection? Is the soul the mind, the conscious energy that the brain produces with curiosity leading to thought provoking questions including: what is existence of everything? Do souls coexist with material bodies, or are they hanging out above the body looking into the human experience as a higher self, or conscience? Are souls the conscious awareness of one’s human existence? If so, the soul could be also known as the mind, due to its ability to have feelings such as empathy with a moral code to live by. It is possible that a soul is located in thought, within the subatomic particles that are not visible to the human eye. Perhaps a microscope so powerful that it can see beyond subatomic particles of thought could locate a soul. Perhaps soul is beyond comprehension, smaller, or vaster than one can imagine.
If every living human being, or any living being, possesses a soul, it is possible to run out of souls. The population of the planet has increased significantly since the dawn of time. There would need to be a soul vault of some sort, a waiting place for souls to be connected with living organic tissue. Are souls waiting in the cloud with iTunes music and Word documents, waiting to be connected with a living body? If there were one soul connected with each living body, there would eventually be no souls left, thus making a percentage of the population born without a soul, which could explain why individuals can appear to have no soul. Another concept to consider is that due to supply and demand, souls may need to be split, to accommodate the increasing size of the population. Sharing a soul with another being can explain the concept of a soul mate. Thus one would share a soul with another living being in however souls can be divided. If souls are divided, are there equal portions, or does one being get more soul than the other? If souls are split, are there smaller souls, or do souls come in different sizes? This brings up the question of how large a soul is, or how to measure a soul.
Perhaps a soul is something that exists in the mind of curious human beings, who are not satisfied with the idea that when their human body dies, that is the end of their life. We as humans, have the need to feel eternal. The concept of soul gives a person validation, knowing that they will never truly die, that their soul will exist for eternity. If there are eternal souls, where are they? If we in fact, as human beings, possess a soul, where do souls come from? Are they manufactured, or have they existed before humans inhabited the planet earth? This is a question that proposes another question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” (Fabry, 2016). Which came first, the body, or the soul?
After pondering the existence of soul, there are no conclusions, only more unanswered questions. Whether one believes in souls is an individual’s choice, as an act of free will to just believe. Perhaps the choice to believe in a soul while questioning one’s existence through the concept of soul is enough to satisfy human curiosity.
References
Merriam-Webster (n.d.). Soul. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soul
Fabry, M. (2016). Now You Know: Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? Retrieved from https://time.com/4475048/which-came-first-chicken-egg/#:~:text=It%20was%20Plutarch%20who%20gave,you%20suppose%20to%20be%20a
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