dizzy_dave:
I’m not really sure how to word this. Is our mind part of our soul? I mean the part of us that thinks and reasons, when the body and soul part at death how will I think after my death. Does that make sense?
Will I know what I know now? (I know I’ll know more after death than I do now).
I think I understand what you’re asking. I’m not a philosopher or a theologian, but I’ll give this question a shot just the same. The Church says all will be revealed at the end of time. That means that you will know all there is to know- everything you know now, and everything else.
If you define the mind as the human thought processes, then the mind is not part of the soul. Thought processes are affected by earthly conditions (opportunities for learning, and the physical development of the brain). The soul is perfect or imperfect due to sin only. The mind is always imperfect. It’s ability to function relies on the ability of the body to function. Until the souls are reunited with their ressurected, glorified, perfect bodies (although we do not know what perfect is- we cannot understand what we have not seen ourselves) at the end of the age.
Some people’s minds may not work the way they should, but that certainly does not mean their soul is less perfect than anyone else’s soul. I doubt people with Alzheimer’s, some other form of dimentia, the mentally retarded, or anyone else with an impaired mind have less perfect souls than those with no mental impairment. Often, these people are among the most faithful people you’ll ever meet. Further, intelligence can often cause the loss of the soul. If you think you can think everything through, and find all the answers, your soul may be lost- because you will not find the most important answers without simple, childlike faith.
Things like selfishness and wrath do involve thought processes, but they also involve a decision that is not based on what you see as logical at the moment- whether to do right or wrong. If someone insults you, it makes sense to respond accordingly and insult them back- or ignore them, and affirm your hatred for them in your heart. Doing so would still be a sin though- even though you may think it is a logical response. These things are matters of the soul, and affect it’s eternal state after the body is dead.