Animism and Aquinas

[jesusmademe]

How is animism different from the view of souls put forth by people like Aquinas?
Even a flower would have a soul accordibg to Aquinas.

 

[Vico]

How is animism different from the view of souls put forth by people like Aquinas?
Even a flower would have a soul accordibg to Aquinas.

Each human has an immortal spiritual rational soul. The non-human material living things have souls that are not immortal spiritual rational souls.

 

[Wesrock]

How is animism different from the view of souls put forth by people like Aquinas?
Even a flower would have a soul accordibg to Aquinas.

All material things have both form and matter.

The form of living things is simply called a “soul” according to Aquinas. This doesn’t mean the plant or animal is spiritual or intellectual.

Only human beings are animals with immortal souls, due to their intellectual nature. Only the human soul, among material beings, is spiritual.

 

[Richca]

From looking at the definition in various dictionaries, animists apparently apply the concept of soul or spirits to all things whether living or non-living such as rocks, stars, storms. The soul for Aquinas is a kind of form that only living or animate things have, its the principle of life in living things. Inanimate things such as rocks do not have souls but they do have a form.

The whole plant that the flower belongs too is what has a soul. There is only one soul in living things. However, it is possible at least in some species of plants to cut off a stem or branch, plant it, and it will grow. In cases such as this, a soul becomes to exist in actuality in the cut off stem or branch which soul only had potential existence or being when the stem or branch was still a part of the plant it was cut off from which plant has only one actual soul but potentially many. This only works for various species of plants and simple animals such as earthworms. The souls of more complex animals with many parts and organs such as cats, dogs, horses, and humans do not have the potentiality of becoming a separate soul in act of the same species in cut off parts such as a leg. A cut off leg from a horse is not going to grow into a horse like a cut off stem or branch from some plant may grow into the same species of plant.

 

[Dan_Defender]

Only human beings have spiritual souls that are immortal. The ‘souls’ of other beings on earth expire at death. Otherwise it would be wrong for us to kill them for food.

 

[jesusmademe]

I am not sure animism is about souls, it could be about spirits or whatever their theory is.

What is the difference between soul and spirit in Catholic teaching?
Angels dont have souls, only spirits and humans dont have spirits, only souls?
What is the official teaching on this?
Then we have human dignity but never angel dignity?

 

[jesusmademe]

Human dignity lies in the fact that we have moral souls? And what is the philosophical evidence that we have immortal souls? On should be able to argue for this without theology, right?

 

[Aquinas11]

Aquinas said that the relationship between Angels and Humans is similar to that between Humans and Animals (e.g. ants). The humans are aware of the animals, but the animals aren’t aware of the humans due to their limited perception and simultaneously the humans know when the animals are heading down a dangerous path and can intervene and if they do intervene and save the animals from danger, the animals aren’t aware that the humans intervened, they may just think they were lucky.

So he’s clearly trying to establish a level of spiritual awareness that goes Angel → Human → Animal.

 

[Dan_Defender]

Philosophically you can doubt everything except your own existence so not wasting time on that. However the Bible says:
‘Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, * it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. For every one will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’ - Mark 9:42-50
Jesus said it and I believe it.
You can of course believe what you want.

 

[Wesrock]

And what is the philosophical evidence that we have immortal souls? On should be able to argue for this without theology, right?

I’m not going to demonstrate here, but for a topic to look into, one way Aquinas demonstrated the immortality of the human soul through philosophy was specifically through his philosophy of the mind. Look into why Thomists hold that the human intellect is immaterial, and what they mean by intellect. Once the intellect is demonstrated to be immaterial, someone looking to argue for the immortality of the soul would argue for the incorruptibility of the intellect, as it has no material parts which could be broken down. So even after the body dies and breaks down, the intellect does not break down, and so continues to exist. Again, this post is only a quick gloss over.

 

[Richca]

I am not sure animism is about souls, it could be about spirits or whatever their theory is.

When I googled the definition for animism, various results from various dictionaries I believe it was, included souls in the definition. I think it amounts to the same thing whether we say its about spirits or souls.

What is the difference between soul and spirit in Catholic teaching?

Theologically speaking, a spirit is a being with intelligence and will and there are three kinds, namely, God, angels, and humans who are a composite of spirit and body. For humans, the words spirit and soul are interchangeable. Human beings, however, unlike the souls of plants and animals, have an immortal spiritual soul with the spiritual powers of intellect and will and which soul can exist apart from the body such as happens when we die. So our soul is a spirit due to our spiritual powers of intelligence and free will. But, like the souls of animals, our soul has sensory powers as well as vegetative powers like plants. Our soul animates our bodies like the souls of animals and plants animate their bodies. So, the spiritual part of our soul has reference to our spiritual faculties of intellect and will; and the ‘soul-part’ as it were to those powers of the soul such as the sensory and vegetative which we share with animals and plants and that animates the body. However, we don’t have more than one soul but it has various powers to which we may reference the word ‘spirit’ too or the word ‘soul’ too.

Angels dont have souls, only spirits and humans dont have spirits, only souls?

We don’t say the angels have souls because a soul is a kind of form united to matter or to bodies and which is the principle of the life of the body and its form. Since angels do not have bodies, we call them pure spirits who have intelligence and will. They are also sometimes called intelligences. Human beings have something in common with both angels and the corporeal/physical world. With the angels, humans have intelligence and will and with the corporeal world, humans have a material body. So, humans are said to be a little universe unto themselves having something of both the spiritual world and the material world. So, we call the human soul a spiritual soul. The souls of animals and plants are called material souls not because they are made out of matter but because they cannot exist but with matter unlike the human soul.

 

[Richca]

(continued)

What is the official teaching on this?

Strictly official that I know of off the top of my head:
Human beings are a composite of spirit or soul and body. The spirit or soul is the form of the body and animates the body, making it a living body. The human soul is immortal and possesses the spiritual powers of intellect and will. Humans have lower bodily appetites obviously. Angels are pure spirits with intelligence and will.

I’m not sure if the Church has officially stated something like I have said concerning the sensory and vegetative powers of the soul or even that plants and animals have souls. It’s possible that it has, I’m not sure. But, we may gather such things from what the Church has officially said using common sense, what is said in Holy Scripture, or from various doctrines of the Church such as original sin. Some of what I said such as the souls of plants and animals and concerning sensory and vegetative powers of the soul come from philosophy such as that of St Thomas Aquinas. Some of these things we can gather with the natural light of reason or, again, deduce them by reason from various doctrines of the Church or Holy Scripture or the teaching of the fathers of the Church. For example, its self-evident that we have an animal body like many other animals. We have the five senses like other animals and we need to eat and drink to stay alive. Human beings are defined as rational animals. But, it is also clear that we are very different from all the rest of the animals due to our intelligence and reason.