Cognitive neuroscience and the soul

[levinas12]

When Spaemann says that God creates the " Person " out of nothing, that is not Catholic teaching. God creates only the human " soul " out of nothing and implants it in the human " egg " at conception. It is this union of Body and Soul that is the Person. Linus2nd

The “soul” is the Aristotelian “form” - the principle of operation of various powers.

As such, the human “soul”, i.e., rational animal soul, is the same in every human being.

The “soul” in this sense is to be contrasted with the common Christian understanding of “soul” as “individual soul” - this latter is closer to the notion of “person” because the “individual soul” has a uniqueness and singularity excluded from the Aristotelian “soul”.

That uniqueness and singularity of the individual soul is not the effect of the matter.

To avoid confusion, we should use “soul” only in the Aristotelian sense.

And instead of referring to “individual soul” in the common Christian sense, we should instead use “person”.

Otherwise, the conversation would hopelessly get bogged down.

A “person” therefore is a singularity because he/she as a unique “person” is not defined by a genus and specific difference - “Saint Augustine”, for example, is not a sortal noun.

A “person” is not reducible to a mere union of “matter” and “form”, i.e., there is a new dimension at work here - a “who” as opposed to a “what”.

This “who” falls outside of Aristotle’s categories.

To see this - look at the Trinity. Our “singularity” reflects the “singularity” of the Divine Persons.

In a certain respect, “singularity” is deeper than “substance”.

 

[levinas12]

“Saint Augustine”, for example, is not a sortal noun.

To clarify, there is a no genus and specific difference for “Saint Augustine” as “Saint Augustine” - there, of course, is a genus and specific difference for “Saint Augustine” as a “human being”, i.e., “rational animal”.

Boethius talks about “individual rational substance”. But this is not satisfactory. Because good Aristotelians would be tempted to explain the “individuality” of the “rational substance” in terms of the “matter”.

But that would not do justice to the dignity of “person”.

Likewise, Scotus’ “haecceitas” is unacceptable.

There is a radical difference between an indiscriminate individuality that applies to any material entity and the “singularity” of a person.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Hello Linusthe2nd,

I haven’t posted on this neurocognitive/soul thread for two months. I reviewed our good exchanges from late January about body/brain and mind/soul.

Recently I have been reading the very detailed work by St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio “The Journey of the Mind into God.” I know you are an expert on the works of St. Thomas Aquinus. This the first I have read about the ideas of St. Bonaventure, probably the 2nd most important Scholastic in the 13th Century.

In the 3rd chapter of “Journey” which is entitled “On the sight of God through His image marked upon the natural powers” there is an interesting paragraph which I will quote in part:

" However, nothing is superior to the human mind, except the One alone who made it…"

So are the mind (not the brain) and the soul (spiritual) united?

Thomas would say that mind ( intellect ) is a power of the soul. In the same way he would say ( will ) and self consciousness are powers of the soul. Linus2nd

 

[Norwich12]

Thanks Linus --Excellent explanation about soul and mind.

I am sorry that I misspelled the last name of St. Thomas A. – especially as our grandson
won the Albertus Magnus award at his parochial school!

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Thanks Linus --Excellent explanation about soul and mind.

I am sorry that I misspelled the last name of St. Thomas A. – especially as our grandson
won the Albertus Magnus award at his parochial school!

Three cheers for that grade school, some good people there !! Linus2nd

 

[levinas12]

God creates only the human " soul " out of nothing and implants it in the human " egg " at conception. It is this union of Body and Soul that is the Person. Linus2nd

Does the body account for the uniqueness and singularity of the “person”? And is “body” understood as “matter”?

I think that, if you make this philosophical move, you reduce the “individuality” of the person to the “individuality” of any material object. And this would make it impossible to establish an analogy between human persons and the Persons of the Trinity.

And what do you mean by God “implanting” the human soul in the egg?

Saying this seems to move the meaning of “human soul” closer to that of “person”.

Aristotle did understand the male ejaculate as the “active” element in conception - so, one might say, the male ejaculate “implants” the human soul.

Of course, he did not know about the female egg (or male sperm).

As far as “God” being the “implanter”, the closest Aristotle gets to this notion might be the Agent Intellect.

But, in Aristotle, the function of the Agent Intellect is not to “implant” the human soul at the moment of conception. It is limited to making possible “intellection”.

You may have noticed that I have confined my remarks to Aristotle.

I have not mentioned Aquinas.

And the reason is that “soul” is a Greek philosophical term. And there is a real question whether we can “baptize” Aristotle’s notion of “soul”.

 

[Norwich12]

Does the body account for the uniqueness and singularity of the “person”? And is “body” understood as “matter”?

I think that, if you make this philosophical move, you reduce the “individuality” of the person to the “individuality” of any material object. And this would make it impossible to establish an analogy between human persons and the Persons of the Trinity.

And what do you mean by God “implanting” the human soul in the egg?

Saying this seems to move the meaning of “human soul” closer to that of “person”.

Aristotle did understand the male ejaculate as the “active” element in conception - so, one might say, the male ejaculate “implants” the human soul.

Of course, he did not know about the female egg (or male sperm).

As far as “God” being the “implanter”, the closest Aristotle gets to this notion might be the Agent Intellect.

But, in Aristotle, the function of the Agent Intellect is not to “implant” the human soul at the moment of conception. It is limited to making possible “intellection”.

You may have noticed that I have confined my remarks to Aristotle.

I have not mentioned Aquinas.

And the reason is that “soul” is a Greek philosophical term. And there is a real question whether we can “baptize” Aristotle’s notion of “soul”.

---

MY comments–

Maybe some of the conflicts in the discussion are that the philosophical world moved beyond Aristotle and the theological world moved beyond Thomas Aquinas?
Especially since Vatican II there has been more interchange between theology and science.

Here are 2 selected paragraphs from a long Vatican document below. The highlights are mine.

---

INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION

COMMUNION AND STEWARDSHIP:
Human Persons Created in the Image of God

BODY and SOUL

1. In order to maintain the unity of body and soul clearly taught in revelation, the Magisterium adopted the definition of the human soul as forma substantialis (cf. Council of Vienne and the Fifth Lateran Council). Here the Magisterium relied on Thomistic anthropology which, drawing upon the philosophy of Aristotle, understands body and soul as the material and spiritual principles of a single human being. It may be noted that this account is not incompatible with present-day scientific insights. Modern physics has demonstrated that matter in its most elementary particles is purely potential and possesses no tendency toward organization. But the level of organization in the universe, which contains highly organized forms of living and non-living entities, implies the presence of some “information.” This line of reasoning suggests a partial analogy between the Aristotelian concept of substantial form and the modern scientific notion of “information.” Thus, for example, the DNA of the chromosomes contains the information necessary for matter to be organized according to what is typical of a certain species or individual. Analogically, the substantial form provides to prime matter the information it needs to be organized in a particular way. This analogy should be taken with due caution because metaphysical and spiritual concepts cannot be simply compared with material, biological data.
2. These biblical, doctrinal and philosophical indications converge in the affirmation that human bodiliness participates in the imago Dei. If the soul, created in God’s image, forms matter to constitute the human body, then the human person as a whole is the bearer of the divine image in a spiritual as well as a bodily dimension. This conclusion is strengthened when the christological implications of the image of God are taken fully into account. “In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear….Christ fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling” (Gaudium et Spes 22). Spiritually and physically united to the incarnate and glorified Word, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist, man arrives at his destination: the resurrection of his own body and the eternal glory in which he participates as a complete human person, body and soul, in the Trinitarian communion shared by all the blessed in the company of heaven.

 

[Norwich12]

I am commenting on my own post.

I believe that there are three Incarnations:

1. THE Incarnation.
2. The Real Presence in the Eucharist.
3. Every human conception when the Image of God is instilled.

Therefore, as expressed in several of other people’s postings, the soul and body unite to become a human person. The brain is the vehicle of the mind, but the mind is not confined to the brain.

The Image instilled into the conceptus pervades through all the cell divisions in the pre- and post partum human. So the soul and body do unite to become a human person.

 

[Matt_Tiza]

I am commenting on my own post.

I believe that there are three Incarnations:

1. THE Incarnation.
2. The Real Presence in the Eucharist.
3. Every human conception when the Image of God is instilled.

Therefore, as expressed in several of other people’s postings, the soul and body unite to become a human person. The brain is the vehicle of the mind, but the mind is not confined to the brain.

The Image instilled into the conceptus pervades through all the cell divisions in the pre- and post partum human. So the soul and body do unite to become a human person.

Wow, my friend, you possess a gift of succinctness that I do not!

I enjoyed the way that you summarized the discussion here.

I’ve been thinking for awhile that it is enough to say that God, the Father, created the universe and everything in it. I don’t believe that we have to infer a “parallel creation” such as a “spirit world” to explain what we don’t currently understand with science (i.e. the intellect and the brain).

Christ’s commentary on the Kingdom of Heaven in John 14:1… simply tells us that it does exist and that there is a place for everyone there. We simply have no basis to assume that there are any parallel dimensions to explain WHERE or WHAT heaven is.

Often times in mathematics and in physics we make imaginary numbers or extra dimensions to fill in the gaps in our understanding of nature. When we are talking about technical data, this will suffice as it represents the limits of our understanding. However, when we speak of matters of Faith and Spirituality, we must not use such constructs to avoid misleading others and ourselves. Many notable heresies stemmed from challenging the divinity of Christ, transubstantiation, etc. in order for people to explain religious concepts that they did not understand. Much of the division and the confusion in the Christian churches grew from these misleading notions.

Let us trust in God that His Creation of Nature is comprehensive and holds all of the answers that we will seek in time.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Does the body account for the uniqueness and singularity of the “person”? And is “body” understood as “matter”?

I think that, if you make this philosophical move, you reduce the “individuality” of the person to the “individuality” of any material object. And this would make it impossible to establish an analogy between human persons and the Persons of the Trinity.

And what do you mean by God “implanting” the human soul in the egg?

Saying this seems to move the meaning of “human soul” closer to that of “person”.

Aristotle did understand the male ejaculate as the “active” element in conception - so, one might say, the male ejaculate “implants” the human soul.

Of course, he did not know about the female egg (or male sperm).

As far as “God” being the “implanter”, the closest Aristotle gets to this notion might be the Agent Intellect.

But, in Aristotle, the function of the Agent Intellect is not to “implant” the human soul at the moment of conception. It is limited to making possible “intellection”.

You may have noticed that I have confined my remarks to Aristotle.

I have not mentioned Aquinas.

And the reason is that “soul” is a Greek philosophical term. And there is a real question whether we can “baptize” Aristotle’s notion of “soul”.

I should have said " embryo " instead of " egg. " Sorry. A human perosn exists at the moment of conception.

The Church’s teaching does not depend on anyone’s philosophy, I depends only on Divine Revelation. It does however use philosophical terms in its definitions and how it understands these terms must be learned from the context and how philosophers themselves understood these terms. Linus2nd

 

[Matt_Tiza]

I should have said " embryo " instead of " egg. " Sorry. A human perosn exists at the moment of conception.

I’m glad to see that everyone agrees on this vital concept.
Please join me in prayer that the rest of the world will reach this undeniable & inevitable conclusion sooner rather than later. As a Church we must show others that science & natural laws can’t be changed because we want the conveniences of pleasure without commitment.

How many families have been destroyed by the evils of contraception & abortion?

Pray that more people will accept the wonderful realities of God’s Creation, & avoid the frustration & despair of trying to cheat the reproductive system.