The Soul

[lemondiesel]

if the things I’ve posted have already been shared then my apologizes

To find your soul, ask yourself "Am I my perceptions? Am I that which can see, hear, speak, feel? Remember that the blind, deaf, dumb, body-burnt cannot do these things, yet the feeling of “I” does not vanish in them.

Our you your emotions? What is the source of your emotions. You will find that they are physical. Fear essentially is the emotion of flutter in your stomach, a gripping feeling that overtakes your body and makes your hair stand on end, your heart beating faster. Joy makes your heart ache in a mild, pleasurable way, makes your lips smile. Anger is some kind of physical sensation that grips you in some kind of way. These are all connected to your body. You will realize that you are not your body. And if you are not your body, and your emotions are part of your body, then you are not your emotions. You will at some point drop identification with your emotions.

Our bodies must just be something that houses this “I”, temporarily.

 

[grannymh]

I’m not an evolutionary biologist, so I will go with the high school textbook criteria; a species is a class of creatures which cannot produce fertile offspring with other classes of creatures.

However, there is some genetic evidence for modern human and neanderthal interbreeding, so I’m not sure if neanderthal can be classed as a distinct species.

nature.com/news/2010/100420/full/news.2010.194.html

When people, or the Church for that matter, speak of man or humans, I assume they refer to homo sapiens sapiens.

Yes, that is one way of separating the species. I was thinking more along the lines of the nature of humans. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that human nature is an unique unification of spirit/matter, rational/corporeal, soul and body.

If homo sapiens sapiens is used, then it would be understood to be a fully complete human person who would be both spiritual and matter.

Blessings,
granny

Human life is sacred.

 

[grannymh]

There is evidence for grave goods in some archaic hominid burials. This would indicate other species besides homo sapiens sapiens had thoughts about an afterlife.

I am not sure what grave goods are. Another poster suggested that burying the dead is to avoid attracting preditors.

I submit this is a difference in degree, not type. A sharpened stick and a bomb have the same function.

When it comes to degrees, I see differences in some areas. But eventually, it comes to the point when the differences are so great, that human beings are a separate species.

While both a sharpened stick and a bomb can be used to kill, the real difference is in the makers of these items. Humans can sharpen sticks and make bombs, but animals can only sharpen sticks.

Blessings,
granny

Spring is a message of faith in the future.

 

[4Horsemen]

The article suggested above about possible interbreeding of humans and Neanderthals led me to check with Genesis to see if there could have been other beings at the time Adam and Eve were created. At the time they were created in the “image and likeness” of God, there may have been various other species that were not ensouled, such as Neanderthals et. al. The fourth chapter of Genesis tells the story of Cain and Abel. After Cain’s sin, God curses him that the soil shall not yield its fruit and that Cain would be a vagabond on the earth. Cain remonstrates with God adding, “everyone, therefore, that findeth me, shall kill me.”

My question is, who is “everyone?” Afterall, the only human beings created thus far were Adam and Eve, and, of course they had children. Yet, Cain will be a wanderer, meeting others. My thinking is that there are other species whose members would kill Cain, so God puts a mark on him. These other species were probably more animal-like without a soul, and there could have been some “inter-marriage” (?), rape (?).

It’s just a thought. Any enlightenment out there?

 

[grannymh]

The article suggested above about possible interbreeding of humans and Neanderthals led me to check with Genesis to see if there could have been other beings at the time Adam and Eve were created. At the time they were created in the “image and likeness” of God, there may have been various other species that were not ensouled, such as Neanderthals et. al. The fourth chapter of Genesis tells the story of Cain and Abel. After Cain’s sin, God curses him that the soil shall not yield its fruit and that Cain would be a vagabond on the earth. Cain remonstrates with God adding, “everyone, therefore, that findeth me, shall kill me.”

My question is, who is “everyone?” Afterall, the only human beings created thus far were Adam and Eve, and, of course they had children. Yet, Cain will be a wanderer, meeting others. My thinking is that there are other species whose members would kill Cain, so God puts a mark on him. These other species were probably more animal-like without a soul, and there could have been some “inter-marriage” (?), rape (?).

It’s just a thought. Any enlightenment out there?

The names of all the ordinary descendents of Adam and Eve are not mentioned. There were many generations, including overlapping generations, many of which migrated. Ever have a friend whose child is older than his uncle? I have two such friends in two different cities.

Each member of these generations would be a true human, spirit/matter, rational/corporeal, body and soul.

 

[Geremia]

1. I was reading about the soul on Catholic Encyclopedia where it states: “The soul may be defined as the ultimate internal principle by which we think, feel, and will, and by which our bodies are animated.”
   What becomes of the soul when a person is brain dead or in a vegetative state, when they’re unable to think, feel or exercise their will? Has their soul left the body?

The Pontifical Academy of the Sciences had a PDF on their website related to this.

1. Humans have an intellect but what about animals, some of whom are clearly highly intelligent?

We need to be careful how we define intelligent. Humans are intelligent in the sense that from sense knowledge of particulars—e.g., by seeing and touching 10 particular oak trees in the U.S.—they can generalize to the immaterial concepts “tree” and “oak,” which then reside in a person’s soul. Can a brute animal do this? No, brutes know only particulars because their souls are dependent on matter. You will never see a brute do anything more than reacting to its environment. Humans, however, have free-wills.

 

[Geremia]

What becomes of the soul when a person is brain dead or in a vegetative state, when they’re unable to think, feel or exercise their will? Has their soul left the body?

No. See this argument.

 

[4Horsemen]

The names of all the ordinary descendents of Adam and Eve are not mentioned. There were many generations, including overlapping generations, many of which migrated. Ever have a friend whose child is older than his uncle? I have two such friends in two different cities.

Each member of these generations would be a true human, spirit/matter, rational/corporeal, body and soul.

Yes, we don’t know how many children Adam and Eve had. Could have been even 2 dozen from one mother. St. Catherine of Sienna was the 24th of 25 children. Also, it seems apparent from early bible stories that people lived longer lives. So, it would seem to follow that their fertile years were much longer than modern humans.