What really is the soul?

[kennyObrien]

I have a very basic question that is terribly difficult to answer. I’ve been thinking about it the last few days, and I needed to share it with you. Does the soul have any kind of human characteristic? Does it speak? Is it an object? Does it move and have emotions? Is it a representation of us as humans, or is it transcendent of everything on earth? Where is it: is it in us now awaiting death with us, or does it take on a life of its own after our deaths? Sorry if I sound too abstract or if I expect too much out of these questions.

 

[James924]

I have a very basic question that is terribly difficult to answer. I’ve been thinking about it the last few days, and I needed to share it with you. Does the soul have any kind of human characteristic? Does it speak? Is it an object? Does it move and have emotions? Is it a representation of us as humans, or is it transcendent of everything on earth? Where is it: is it in us now awaiting death with us, or does it take on a life of its own after our deaths? Sorry if I sound too abstract or if I expect too much out of these questions.

I would say anytime we speak or think its our soul doing so. Our thoughts have no material attributes. In other words, you cannot measure them, they do not occupy space, they are not in space, they are immaterial… And yet they certainly exist (otherwise we wouldn’t be here talking). And when you think about that, then you might conclude that in order for us to produce these immaterial things, we must have an immaterial source from which they come… That would be our soul. Does it dwell “in” us? Well yes, but then we need to consider what “in” means in light of the fact that it is immaterial and doesn’t occupy space. And is it even sensible to say that it dwells “in” us or does that wrongly imply that somehow “us” is something separate from our soul.

At the same time it is I think important not to conclude that the body is more “us” than the soul. What are “we”? We are “person” and that person is body and soul, mysteriously joined. Anyway, my head is starting to hurt. I recommend dropping a few bucks on Frank Sheed’s Theology for Beginners, written for lay people. An old classic, orthodox to the core and easy to understand (as far as can be said for such topics). He covers the nature of the soul, and spirit and the concept of immaterial very early on in the book. And I think he answers most of the questions you asked, if not all.

 

[mattkubes]

Fear not, the Angelic Doctor has you covered! If you want to go into more depth, he has a series of articles on the nature of the soul here:
newadvent.org/summa/1075.htm

In case you’re not familiar with the style of the Summa, St Thomas lays out a few objections to his point, presents a counterargument, and ends with specifically addressing each objection. Masterfully.

These are the questions he tackles on that page:

1. 
   *]Is the soul a body?
   *]Is the human soul a subsistence?
   *]Are the souls of brute animals subsistent?
   *]Is the soul man, or is man composed of soul and body?
   *]Is the soul composed of matter and form?
   *]Is the soul incorruptible?
   *]Is the soul of the same species as an angel?
   
   Although for more background on the subject, you might find the Catholic Encyclopedia’s article more helpful - newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm.