Is the Human Soul Immortal - Thesis Example

? Is the Human Soul Immortal? Is the Human Soul Immortal? The controversies surrounding human soul is still going on even though science and technology developed a lot. Everybody agree that human body mind and spirit or soul existing in every human. Moreover, nobody has any doubt that our body will be destroyed after death. However, nobody has any idea about what is happening to our soul after our death. In philosophy, the word dualism is used to represent the differences between body mind and soul. In other words, it is an accepted fact that body, mind and soul are entirely independent things. The combined effort of these three entities is required for the proper functioning of human life. Only the body is visible to us whereas mind and soul are invisible to us. This is because of the fact that body is made of physical things which are visible to us. On the other hand, mind and soul are invisible things even though we can experience the activities of these two things. The dual nature of body and soul was supported by ancient philosophers like Rene Descartes, Plato, Socrates etc. These philosophers believed that the soul is a non physical substance whereas body is a physical substance. Since soul is invisible, it is impossible for us to say accurately about what will happen to the soul after death. Science is keeping a meaningful silence in this issue even though it accepts the existence of mind and soul. On the other hand, only the religions are ready to answer the question with respect to the future of soul. Religious descriptions are based on beliefs rather than facts. It is difficult to prove the religious beliefs or descriptions about soul scientifically. In short, the future of soul after our death remains a controversial topic or question. In my opinion, soul is immortal even though our body is mortal. This paper briefly analyses the immortality of soul based on the opinions of former philosophers like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle and also with respect to the some of the scientific facts available. Science says that energy can neither be created, nor be destroyed, but can be transformed from one form to another form. In other words, the total energy available in the universe is a constant. In all the activities we perform, energy is not destroyed, but transformed from one form to another. For example, a fan converts electrical energy into mechanical energy rather than destroying the energy. Soul is considered as an energy form by many people. This is because of the fact that it is difficult for our body to function properly in the absence of a soul since soul is the driving force of our body. If soul is an energy form, then there is no doubt about the immortally of soul even scientifically. Soul (Energy) which was in our body in one form could be transformed into another form after our death. In short, if science accepts soul as an energy form, it should accept the immortality of soul also. What will happen to the mind and soul if all the materials used in the making of our body were repalced with some other materials from another planet? It is difficult to answer the above question since we do not know the relation between body mind and soul. We do not know whether our body or the content of our body has any influence upon the making of our soul. Nobody knows whether life exists in other planets or not. If life exists, in other planets, what will be the nature of that life? How the body, mind and soul relationships will be there? Since science failed to give proper answers to all these questions, it is logical to believe the words of religions with respect to the mortality or immortality of soul. Religions believe that soul is an entirely different thing which represents the Holy Spirit from god. Religions argue that human is the creation of God. According to Christian belief, God has transferred the Holy Spirit to human at the time of creation. In other words, God created the body of human from physical things and hence body will be destroyed after death. At the same time, God has given life to human body by transferring the Holy Spirit (Holy Spirit come from the God, the almighty) from God to human. If that is true, the immortality of soul is again underlined since it is impossible for a believer to argue that the Spirit will be destroyed after our death. Holy Spirit comes from God which will be taken back by God after our death. Since God is the only eternal entity available in this universe, anything come out of God will also be eternal until God decided so. Religions argue that God is the beginning and the end. In other words, God has always existed and will continue to exist. On the other hand all the other things except the God have certain beginning. In short, according to the religious beliefs also, the immortality of soul is proved. To Socrates, human possesses a psyche and a soul (Engel,et al, 2008, p.46).Socrates’ strong belief in immortality of soul enabled him to meet the death so courageously and hopefully (Engel,et al, 2008, p.70). Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers of all time, believed in the immortality of soul. “Socrates says not only that the soul is immortal, but also that it contemplates truths after its separation from the body at the time of death” (Lorenz, 2009). Socrates discarded the view that soul is constructed from earthly substances and it will be dissolved to earth just like body. In fact Socrates argued that our life is controlled not by our body, but by our soul. He believed that soul should be so powerful than our body so that it can survive even after our death. Socrates argued that death separates soul from body and put it in another body. In other words, Socrates believed in rebirth after death. He thought that death is only a process of transferring soul from one body to another. Socrates pointed out that soul is the most intelligent entity in human and that is why it is invisible. He believed that the capabilities of human are not sufficient enough to perceive the activities of soul since it came from another source. “According to the argument that Socrates offers in the Phaedo, the soul is immortal because it has life essentially, the way fire has heat essentially. Socrates explicitly appeals to the idea that it is the soul that animates the body of a living thing” (Lorenz, 2009). Because of the above belief, Socrates accepted his death in a peaceful manner. Plato also considered soul as an immortal entity. It should be pointed out that the soul, as Plato conceives of it in the Phaedo, is crucially characterized by cognitive and intellectual features: it is something that reasons, more or less well depending on the extent to which it is disturbed or distracted by the body and the senses; something that regulates and controls the body and its desires and affections. Plato retained the traditional idea of soul as distinguishing the animate from the inanimate (Lorenz, 2009). Plato attached cognitive and intellectual elements to soul rather than physical elements. He has pointed out that soul is the entity which differentiates living things and nonliving things. In other words, all the nonliving things have only physical elements whereas living things has both physical and nonphysical elements. The physical elements would be destroyed after one’s death whereas the nonphysical elements such as mind and soul will escape from death. In the dialogue ‘Phaedo’, Plato elaborated more on soul and body. In his opinion our perception of distinct and immaterial objects are nothing more than shadows. One problem with Plato's thought was that, though he speaks of the soul as imprisoned in the body, there is no clear account of what binds a particular soul to a particular body. “Plato was prepared to say that the truly just person, whose soul is ordered, is beyond tragedy, and cannot be harmed. Such a person is leading a meaningful life, as against the immoral person” (Plato theory of soul, 2010). Plato defined soul in terms of reason, emotion and appetite. According to Plato, soul is the entity which controls reason, emotions and appetite. He believed that morality is associated with happiness of a person. So he thought that an immoral person will be attracted towards moral activities in order to gain happiness. At the same time, Plato kept a silence over the future of the souls of the immoral people. Aristotle had slightly different opinions about the definition and immortality of soul. In his opinion, soul is the form, or essence of any living thing; that it is not a distinct substance from the body that it is in; that it is the possession of soul that makes an organism an organism at all, and thus that the notion of a body without a soul, or of a soul in the wrong kind of body, is simply unintelligible. He argues that some parts of the soul—the intellect—can exist without the body, but most cannot (Aristotle on the Soul, n. d) Aristotle perceived soul as a life force which drives body. He believed that soul consists of both physical and nonphysical elements. Because of the presence of physical elements in soul, he thought soul cannot stay alive without a body. In other words, he argued that soul will be destroyed along with the body after death. The immortality of soul was unacceptable to him. Aristotle pointed out that even plants may have souls. In his opinion, all the living things have souls and soul is the entity which determines whether an object is live or not. “The soul is the form of a living thing. (Not its shape, but its actuality, that in virtue of which it is the kind of living thing that it is)” (Aristotle on the Soul, n. d). Aristotle described soul as a capacity. In his opinion, soul is capable of giving life to a body. In other words, soul is the entity which assists a person his natural capabilities like self nourishment, growth, decay, movement and rest, perception, etc. At the same time, Aristotle failed to define the association between body and soul clearly. He argued that “the soul does not exist without a body and yet is not itself a kind of body. For it is not a body, but something which belongs to a body and for this reason exists in a body and in a body of such-and-such a kind” (Aristotle on the Soul, n. d). Aristotle recognized soul as an inseparable entity from body. He believed that both body and soul are unable to exist independently. In other words, he thought that body and soul do not have individuality and hence when one entity faces death, the other also faces the same thing naturally. Aristotle theory perceives soul as a system of abilities possessed by the living things. Conclusions I strongly believe that human soul is immortal after analysing the arguments of great philosophers and the definitions of human life by science. Soul is certainly an entity which is beyond the grasp of human abilities. Soul is invisible and it is controlled by an invisible power whereas body is visible and it is controlled by the soul. Body is made of physical things which can be destroyable whereas soul is made of spiritual things which cannot be destroyed. If soul is an energy form which acts as a fuel in driving our body, it cannot be destroyed according to the scientific principles. Since science is not giving any concrete answers about soul it is better for us to believe the words of religions. Until science succeeded in unveiling the mysteries surrounding our life before birth and after death, it is logical to believe that soul as an immortal entity. References 1. Aristotle on the Soul, (n. d). Retrieved from http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/psyche.htm 2. Engel, M, Soldan A and Durand K (2008) The Study of Philosophy. Rowman and Littlefield Publications Inc. 3. Lorenz H, (2009) Ancient Theories of Soul. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/ 4. Plato theory of soul, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.essortment.com/plato-theory-soul-21637.html 5. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy-Dualism, (2003), Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dualism/ Read More