Are mental illnesses problems with our souls?

[TK421]

That sounds reasonable, but the problem is, if the brain is a filter, and absorbing knowledge instantaneously isn’t necessarily bad (look at Angels), then why does God need to resurrect our brain? Wouldn’t our brain then act as a “crutch” to our true intellect in the Soul? We would end up in a sort of “Ghost in the machine” again.

That’s why I think, that the only meaningful way to clasify the body and the soul is to recognize them with different functions, complementing, but not sharing operations. That way, both the soul and the body would be necessary to have a “complete” human being.

One thing that the author speculated is that an intellect that can instantaneously absorb knowledge and concepts isn’t always an ideal thing, because that’s not a good climate for focusing on earthly tasks or developing character and the virtues. The brain, as limited as it is, is also very useful in the way it restrains the powers of the soul and processes information using biological mechanisms in a slow and cumbersome way. It’s like being an athlete and training in an extremely high gravity environment.

As far as how that fits into the glorified bodies people will eventually have, I’m not sure, but the glorified body doesn’t work the same way as the earthly one.

 

[Richca]

I did not realise that ‘intellect’ is considered a ‘spiritual’ quality in Catholic teaching. Is it? If so, why does it vary between people?

The intellect is a spiritual power or faculty of the soul and so is the will. In this life, all our knowledge comes though our senses so the intellect in this life while it is united to the body depends on the proper functioning of bodily organs for its own proper operation.