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Within the realms of idealist philosophy, religious belief and the traditions of the globe, the concept of the soul has been around for a long, long time. The soul is said to be the animating force that bestows life and consciousness upon the physical body, without it the body would be nothing more than an inert mass of matter. And as for the body? It provides the vessel for the soul to experience and interact with the physical world. But upon the death of the body, the soul is no longer encased in the body’s slavish obedience to material reality. It’s incorporeal nature, free to transcend this worldly realm and all its physicality. Floating up to paradise in the great eternal beyond or whatever other transcendental reality cooked up by the human mind. The soul was thought to be the essential essence of someone: indivisible, self-determined and independent. Because the soul and the self are one and the same, the soul is the real us and not our bodily form.
And it was the soul that was the crucial element that allowed the recently departed to carry on despite the breakup of the body. Saving us from complete extinction, we’ll be transcended into a new metaphysical plane of existence. The soul enabled the concept of transcendence to be logically sound, but that does not mean it’s necessarily true, just has a logic to it. Because it was said that only the immaterial soul had the capability of accessing the afterlife, a place inaccessible to living, material beings. This conveniently aligns with religious and spiritual narratives or beliefs as they see the physical body as a constraint that limits access to the realm of the afterlife, which is often considered non-physical or spiritual in nature.
It’s this idea of the immortal soul which offered a way to cope with mortality anxiety, it gave the believers a sense of continuity and the hope that their existence extends beyond the physical realm. The priest standing behind the pulpit assures his believers that death is not the end, but rather a transition to another form of existence, whether in an afterlife or through reincarnation.
However, how does this square up with beliefs about the afterlife that may vary across different cultures and religious traditions? How do these differing interpretations harmonize with each other? And can we find a universal consensus or even better, actual evidence to support the existence of an afterlife? The enigma of the afterlife persists, prompting us to delve into the intricacies of cultural and religious viewpoints, while acknowledging the absence of a universally accepted understanding or empirical substantiation.
But in regard to interacting with the physical world, why is it that souls have this specific property? That they must inhabit multicellular biological bodies as the condition for the individual to be a living participant interacting with the physical world? It suggests that the living or biological body is something special and sets it apart from other configurations of matter like minerals, water and soil. We know this not to be the case, as all living organisms are made of the same baryonic matter of atoms just as the rock jutting out of a hill or a slick of mud in the field. Do we not see? That this shared material basis demonstrates our commonality with the physical world and challenges the idea that living bodies are inherently distinct or superior to other configurations of matter?
The stoic philosopher, Seneca, tells it like it is when he made this observation:
“Fire will burn all people equally, male and female, of every rank and every age: steel will exhibit its cutting power on all bodies alike: and why? Because these things derive their strength from nature, which makes no distinction of persons.”
There we have it, the body is made up of a specific configuration of matter that is combustible and susceptible to severing. In other words, there is nothing special about the human or animal body, it is but one among a mind boggling array of objects found in the universe.
There’s no evidence for the existence of the soul, only mere traditions, holy books and anecdotal evidence. During those times, explanations for various aspects of existence, consciousness, and the nature of life were sought through philosophical and religious lenses rather than through empirical scientific methods. The concept of the soul served as a means to explain the origin of consciousness, the purpose of life, and the nature of existence. But now should be seen as something obsolete like in similar fashion to the concept of the aether theory in physics, which was once widely accepted in the past, but later proven incorrect. The concept of the soul has evolved throughout history it had its time and now it is spent. Is it because it was written down in some sacred book, that it must be so? Is that what the argument from A to Z going to be?
As we journey through the vast expanse of human understanding, the belief in the existence of the soul finds itself standing on shaky ground. Materialist perspectives, fueled by the remarkable progress of scientific inquiry, present a compelling argument that challenges the traditional notion of the soul.
Within our humble universe lies the intricate network of matter and energy that we find the roots of consciousness, identity, and the rich tapestry of human experience—not some farcical disembodied ghost! No longer confined to ethereal realms guessed up by the human imagination, our understanding of the mind is steadily advancing. The intricate web of neural connections, firing with astounding precision, offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the complexities of cognition. It is through the ceaseless dance of neurons, guided by the laws of physics and chemistry, that consciousness emerges.
From the ongoing march of materialism and neuroscience, the concept of the soul appears increasingly unnecessary. No longer must we rely on intangible entities to explain the workings of our minds and the essence of our being. Instead, we can revel in the awe-inspiring power of the physical world, just like the ancient Greek atomists of old and acknowledge that our thoughts, emotions, and sense of self arise from the intricate interplay of neurons and synapses.
In our quest for understanding, let us embrace the scientific pursuit that unveils the remarkable nature of our material world. We should embrace our interconnected physicality, appreciating the grandeur that arises from the cosmic dance of atoms. Life unfolds within the confines of the material, leaving no room for an ethereal soul to claim dominion.
What do you choose? A pleasant fiction or an unpleasant truth?
