Question about the soul

[NewGuy777]

Please forgive me if I’m posting this in the wrong section. As you might have guessed, I’m somewhat new here.

Anyway, I’m looking for some thoughts on this matter. I have been thinking about this for some time now, and it has been bugging me. Basically, one of my friends posed to me a question about the afterlife.

If I understand correctly, your soul is “you”, meaning your consciousness, personality, memories, and so on. If this is true, then how come when something such as brain damage occurs, your personality can be completely altered, and your memories destroyed? Wouldn’t your soul be able to fight through any kind of damage that happens to your physical body/brain?

One of my own theories is that the body is used like an instrument by the soul. If the body is damaged, then it can’t be properly utilized by the soul, sort of like a guitarist using a broken guitar.

What do you think?

Thanks.

 

[fermat]

Your soul is the life giving force within you. Every living thing, plants, animals, people have souls. The only difference between a human soul and a non-human soul is that our souls are immortal.

 

[NewGuy777]

Your soul is the life giving force within you. Every living thing, plants, animals, people have souls. The only difference between a human soul and a non-human soul is that our souls are immortal.

So you’re saying that our souls don’t have anything to do with our personalities/consciousness?

 

[fermat]

Our personalities, memories, no. Our consciousness, physical and moral, yes. If you body is damaged, say you are brain dead and on life support, your soul no longer resides in you. It has gone to God at that point.

 

[jpjd]

I think your theory is pretty much right. The soul can only act in the body to the extent that the body is capable.

 

[mellestad]

Our personalities, memories, no. Our consciousness, physical and moral, yes. If you body is damaged, say you are brain dead and on life support, your soul no longer resides in you. It has gone to God at that point.

What’s the difference between ‘memories and personalities’ and ‘consciousness, physical and moral’?

 

[Deconi]

Our personalities, memories, no. Our consciousness, physical and moral, yes. If you body is damaged, say you are brain dead and on life support, your soul no longer resides in you. It has gone to God at that point.

WHOA!
This is not correct. We don’t have souless zombies lying around in hospitals!

Your soul remains with you until your death, as in life leaves you.

Remember Our Hope. Even brain dead or life support people have recovered. Their soul didn’t return to them after leaving for a time.

In the future, we will be able to figure out (medically/scientifically) what is actually preventing the brain to function properly which causes these instances, and as a matter of course, be able to revive those on life support or brain dead comas.

Our hope is that there is ALWAYS hope, and there always is.

 

[RosaryFan]

Please forgive me if I’m posting this in the wrong section. As you might have guessed, I’m somewhat new here.

Anyway, I’m looking for some thoughts on this matter. I have been thinking about this for some time now, and it has been bugging me. Basically, one of my friends posed to me a question about the afterlife.

If I understand correctly, your soul is “you”, meaning your consciousness, personality, memories, and so on. If this is true, then how come when something such as brain damage occurs, your personality can be completely altered, and your memories destroyed? Wouldn’t your soul be able to fight through any kind of damage that happens to your physical body/brain?

One of my own theories is that the body is used like an instrument by the soul. If the body is damaged, then it can’t be properly utilized by the soul, sort of like a guitarist using a broken guitar.

What do you think?

Thanks.

Your soul is your spiritual being which enhabits your body. Memories and personality are products of your brain function. If you sustain brain damage, then your personality and memories may be affected. Your soul is not affected. The only thing that damages the soul is sin. Since our physical beings are subject to concupicence and evil, they can be marred physically, but only temporarily. Once our bodies and souls reunite in the end, our bodies will be in a glorified state and all marrings and inuries will have disappeared. Something to look forward to.

 

[mellestad]

Your soul is your spiritual being which enhabits your body. Memories and personality are products of your brain function. If you sustain brain damage, then your personality and memories may be affected. Your soul is not affected. The only thing that damages the soul is sin. Since our physical beings are subject to concupicence and evil, they can be marred physically, but only temporarily. Once our bodies and souls reunite in the end, our bodies will be in a glorified state and all marrings and inuries will have disappeared. Something to look forward to.

How do you tell the difference between your soul and the rest of it though?

 

[davidv]

How do you tell the difference between your soul and the rest of it though?

One cannot distinguish. “you” are not alive if body and soul aren’t one. The soul is not a separate entity. At death the soul leaves the body and remains incomplete until the resurrection of the dead.

 

[mellestad]

One cannot distinguish. “you” are not alive if body and soul aren’t one. The soul is not a separate entity. At death the soul leaves the body and remains incomplete until the resurrection of the dead.

If one cannot distinguish, how do you tell if something has a soul or not? Does it have any distinguishing characteristics separate from the mind?

 

[teachccd]

Just a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 365:

**365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body:234 i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature. **

This probably just confuses things but I thought that I’d chime in… teachccd

 

[RosaryFan]

If one cannot distinguish, how do you tell if something has a soul or not? Does it have any distinguishing characteristics separate from the mind?

Every human being has a soul. That is precisely what separates us from the animals. Our soul is present at the first instant of conception and every soul possesses free will and intellect.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

… one of my friends posed to me a question about the afterlife.

… how come when something such as brain damage occurs, your personality can be completely altered, and your memories destroyed?

What do you mean by “personality?”

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, from his Summa Theologica…

Our soul has the faculties of intellect and will. We acquire knowledge in two ways: (1) naturally, through the use of sense-images which inform our intellect, and (2)supernaturally, through the gift of infused knowledge given by God.

In our earthly life, these faculties of the soul operate with and depend upon the use of our body, through the use of sense-images. While we may acquire knowledge without sense-image (supernatural vision given by God), yet in order for us to judge this knowledge, we turn to our sense-images.

When my ability to sense is impaired, the manner in which I naturally inform my intellect is impaired. This does not mean I no longer have an intellect, but it can mean that I have a disorder in how my intellect can be informed through sense-images. This can be from impairment of my sensors (blindness, deafness, brain damage etc) or through my ability to process the sense data (e.g. brain damage). Such bodily disorders affect my ability to gather and process sense-image, which is needed to inform my intellect. Such damage, however, does nothing to impart God’s ability to supernaturally inform our intellect.

If the question pertains to “afterlife”, then it pertains to when our soul and body are separted by death. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the nature of our soul remains the same, yet the manner in which it operates changes at death. We retain previously acquired knowledge, but can no longer use sense-images to inform our intellect. God provides that knowledge which, according to Divine providence, He deems that we need to know (infused knowledge).

St. Thomas Aquinas talks about how the soul naturally acquires knowlege, here:
Summa Theologica, I, Q. 75 through 102

He speaks specifically of the operation of the soul after separation from the body at death, here:
Summa Theologica, I, Q. 89

He speaks of the Divine gift of supernatural visions by which man may gain Divinely infused knowlege, here:
Summa Theologica, IIb q. 173

 

[mellestad]

OK, I guess a simple question is in order then: Is there supposed to be any objective way to identify the soul, or is it just an assumed attribute of humans?

I’m not going to fight about the answer, either way. If it is objective, I’d like to know what it is. If it is an assumed fact, that’s fine, I’ll know not to ask next time.

 

[NewGuy777]

One more question. Will we remember our experiences here, on earth, once we are in heaven?

Simply trying to understand things.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

OK, I guess a simple question is in order then: Is there supposed to be any objective way to identify the soul, or is it just an assumed attribute of humans?

I’m not going to fight about the answer, either way. If it is objective, I’d like to know what it is. If it is an assumed fact, that’s fine, I’ll know not to ask next time.

It is not merely assumed, but derives from faith and reason. Ancient Greek Philosophers used reason to draw conclusions regarding the existence of the soul. Christians do not merely rely upon philosophical arguments, but use also the testimony of Divine revelation to assist human reason in coming to our beliefs.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

One more question. Will we remember our experiences here, on earth, once we are in heaven?

Simply trying to understand things.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the soul does not lose its knowedge after death. Yet, the separated soul does not then become all-knowing, but knows to the extent given by God.

 

[davidv]

OK, I guess a simple question is in order then: Is there supposed to be any objective way to identify the soul, or is it just an assumed attribute of humans?

I’m not going to fight about the answer, either way. If it is objective, I’d like to know what it is. If it is an assumed fact, that’s fine, I’ll know not to ask next time.

I strongly suggest you read this article on the meanings of “soul” and how they relate to human beings.

It is not as simple a thing as your question seems to imply.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

…The only difference between a human soul and a non-human soul is that our souls are immortal.

This is incorrect.

Firstly, no soul is naturally immortal. Human souls are made immortal by the power of God.

Secondly, the difference between a human soul and those of animals, etc. is that a human soul is “rational” (i.e can reason) while those of all other creatures (excepting angels) are “irrational.” There are other difference between a human soul and the sould of other creatures, according to St. Thomas Aquinas.