Soul

Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being. The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife , but opinions may vary wildly even within a given religion as to what happens to the soul after death . Many within these religions and philosophies see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it possibly material. Note: This article uses the word "soul" in the common form, and deals largely with varied concepts from which the concept originates, and to which it relates. The use of the word soul often does not explicitly correspond to usage associated with any particular view or belief, including usage in Western and Eastern religious texts and in the writings of Plato or Aristotle .

The soul , in some religions , spiritual traditions, and philosophies , is the incorporeal or eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separate from the body . Many philosophical and religious systems teach that humans have souls; some attribute souls to all living things and even inanimate objects (such as rivers); this belief is commonly called animism . The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death , and some religions posit that God creates souls. The soul has often been deemed integral or essential to consciousness and personality , and may be synonymous with spirit , mind or self . Although the terms soul and spirit are sometimes used interchangeably, soul may denote a more worldly and less transcendent aspect of a person. According to psychologist James Hillman , soul has an affinity for negative thoughts and images, whereas spirit seeks to rise above the entanglements of life and death. The words soul and psyche can also be treated synonymously, although psyche has more physical connotations, whereas soul is connected more closely to spirituality and religion. "Soul" , The Columbia Encyclopedia , Sixth Edition. 2001-07. A blue fire: Selected writings by James Hillman . In J Hillman, A blue fire: Selected writings by James Hillman (T Moore, Ed.). A blue fire: Selected writings by James Hillman .

( Learn how and when to remove this message ) The soul , in many religious, philosophical and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal and, in many conceptions, immortal essence of a living thing. According to most of the Abrahamic religions , immortal souls belong only to human beings. Other religions (most notably Jainism and Hinduism ) teach that all biological organisms have souls, and others teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This latter belief is called animism . Greek philosophers such as Socrates , Plato and Aristotle understood the psyche (ψυχή) to be crowned with the logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At his defense trial, Socrates even summarized his teachings as nothing other than an exhortation for his fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such excellence ( The Apology 30a–b). Anima mundi is the concept of a "world soul" connecting all living organisms on the planet.

Spiritual essence of a living being Not to be confused with Seoul . Human soul leaving the body. In many religious and philosophical traditions, the soul is the spiritual essence of a person, which includes one's identity , personality , and memories , an immaterial aspect or essence of a living being that is believed to be able to survive physical death . The concept of the soul is generally applied to humans, though it can also be applied to other living or even non-living entities, as in animism .

Immaterial essence of a living being Not to be confused with Seoul . Depiction of the soul leaving its body, The Grave , illustrated by William Blake and engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti , 1808 The soul is the purported immaterial aspect or essence of a living being . It is typically believed to be immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that describe the relationship between the soul and the body are interactionism , parallelism , and epiphenomenalism . Anthropologists and psychologists have found that most humans are naturally inclined to believe in the existence of the soul and that they have interculturally distinguished between souls and bodies. The soul has been the central area of interest in philosophy since ancient times . Socrates envisioned the soul to possess a rational faculty, its practice being man's most godlike activity. Plato believed the soul to be the person's real self , an immaterial and immortal dweller of our lives that continues and thinks even after death. Aristotle sketched out the soul as the " first actuality " of a naturally organized body—form and matter arrangement allowing natural beings to aspire to full actualization. Avicenna distinguished between the soul and the spirit, arguing that the soul's immortality follows from its nature rather than serving as a purpose to fulfill. Following Aristotelian principles, Thomas Aquinas understood the soul as the first actuality of the living body but maintained that it could exist without a body since it has operations independent of corporeal organs. During the Age of Enlightenment , Immanuel Kant defined the soul as the "I" in the most technical sense, holding that we can prove that "all properties and actions of the soul cannot be recognized from materiality". Different religions conceptualize souls in different ways. Buddhism generally teaches the non-existence of a permanent self ( anattā ), contrasting with Christianity 's belief in an eternal soul that experiences death as a transition to God 's presence in heaven . Hinduism views the Ātman ('self', 'essence') as identical to Brahman in some traditions, while Islam uses two terms— rūḥ and nafs —to distinguish between the divine spirit and a personal disposition. Jainism considers the soul ( jīva ) to be an eternal but changing form until liberation, while Judaism employs multiple terms such as nefesh and neshamah to refer to the soul. Sikhism regards the soul as part of God ( Waheguru ), Shamanism often embraces soul dualism with "body souls" and "free souls", while Taoism recognizes dual soul types ( hun and po ).