The Soul and Its Importance to Theology - Essay Example

The Soul and its' Importance to Theology As human beings, we are naturally curious and constantly searching to find our places in the universe. We search for our place in school, our place in the family, our place at work and our place in our religions. We constantly seek out our desires for wanting more: more money, more knowledge, more success and more opportunities, all toward the goal of living a more fulfilled life. On this lifelong journey toward fulfillment we also strive to find balances in our lives. We balance work with relaxation. We temper spending with saving and give our time to both the things we have to do and the things we want to do. In this journey, we also seek growth physically, emotionally and mentally through nourishment. We nourish our bodies' thorough proper diet and our minds through education and learning, but how do we nourish our souls As a society, we have been desensitized to the virtue of a human beings' soul. This is evident in the wide use of the term "soul-mate" and the over use of the word in the songs we hear on the radio. Most of us, rarely describe how we behave or the manner in which we live our lives, as nourishing our souls. Most of us, cannot even give a definition or description of a soul if asked. Throughout history, the definition, composition and purpose of the human soul have been heavily debated and are often referred to as the Mind/Body argument. In some theologies, it is believed that if the soul only exists in the mind and if the soul does in fact, exist in the mind then it too dies when the brain ceases to function at death. In other theologies, the soul is described as an immaterial part of our physical beings and is without physical bounds. It does not die when our physical bodies die, but transcends from our bodies at death. The objections raised in this theory point to the fact that if the soul is immaterial, that is to say that it is not composed of matter, how then, is it said to exist In his The Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas attempted to answer this objection and other questions raised regarding the existence of the human soul. In part one of The Summa Theologica the section titled "The Treatise of Man" the objection to the composition of a soul is argued that "nothing gives what it is not; for instance what is not hot does not give heat" (Aquinas section 75 article 1 The Summa Theologica). This goes to say that if the soul is the force that moves the body, and then the soul is the body. Aquinas countered the objection to say that the soul is not the body, but an act of the body. Aquinas goes on to state that the body and soul work in conjunction to create one entity. The body, working through the material by way of its' physical senses, converts the material to the immaterial. For instance, by sight a human being attains knowledge through reading. Through hearing, a human being attains knowledge by listening. By reading words on paper and listening to words through conversation and lecture the mind converts the material to the immaterial. This cognitive soul is dependant upon sensory experiences in order to form mental images or what is referred to in ancient texts as phantasms. Therefore, Aquinas argued, the body and soul are one. This theology by Aquinas raised the next objection: If the body and soul is indeed one unit, what happens to the soul when the body dies It is often noted that Saint Thomas Aquinas found the basis for his theology through the study of Aristotle's philosophies. The division from Aristotelian for Aquinas' occurs when the Saint answers the questions as to what becomes of the soul when the physical human body no longer exists. Aquinas theorized that the soul and the body are separated at death. The continued survival of the immaterial soul after the death of the material body is based on God's will. Steeped in his belief that the body and soul exist as one unit, Aquinas states ""...it is better for the soul to be united to the body than not to be united to it, since it is naturally the form of the body." (http://noumenal.net/exiles/aquinassoul.html). A soul without a body is said by Aquinas, to be unfulfilled and by God's will, the body will rise again through the resurrection and the soul and body will be reunited. While Aquinas found his theory based in the Aristotelian school of thought, Saint Augustine based his theories on Platonic thought. Saint Augustine theorized that the soul was superior to the body and existed specifically to reign over the physical body. Although the human being was created in the image of God, the soul cannot be attributed to God, body or the material. As opposed to Aquinas' theory that the soul and body are one, Augustine believed that the soul and body were in fact not one and the essence of the human being was based in the rational soul. This rational soul only made use of the mortal and "earthly" body and the body and soul were not united as one but were two separate entities. In addition, Augustine theorized that the soul is susceptible to both positive and negative moral changes and influences and that God did not create these moral evils of the world. To further explain his theories on the soul, Augustine penned De Liberio Arbitrio II in which he discusses the class structure in which all things in existence fall. This class structure is broken down into things that simply exist, things that exist and live and things that exist, live and are capable of understanding (Mendelson 2000). Saint Augustine believed that the human beings capacity to learn, understand and reason is what separates human beings from other living things. In his theological works, Saint Augustine was found confused as to the origin of the soul and addresses the four major hypotheses of his time regarding the origin of the soul. The first hypothesis contends that God sends the soul to the body. The second theory contends that the soul becomes embodied by its' choice. The third contends that all souls were created from Adam and are therefore, genealogically related and the fourth hypothesis contends that God creates a new soul for each new body. The problem for Saint Augustine and these four hypotheses lies in the belief that an unborn child is without sin and as done "neither good nor evil" (Mendelson 2000). Throughout his life, Saint Augustine continued to address the issues regarding the origin of the soul. It was evident that even in the works completed toward the end of his life that he continued to be unable to completely reconcile the given theories and the origin of the human soul through traducianism, creationism and neo-Platonism. Throughout his life and works, Saint Augustine's views remained deeply steeped in Platonic and dualist theory. Plato's theory on the soul is discussed in depth in both Phaedeus and The Republic. In his work The Republic Plato theorizes that the human soul is comprised of three major components. The first being the "rational soul", that which distinguishes human beings from other living creatures such as plants and animals. This component of the soul guides human beings to make rational and wise decisions. The second being the "irrational appetitive" component that is said to control desires such as lust, desire and hunger (Kemmerling 2001). The third component of the human soul according to Plato was the spiritual component of the human soul (Lorenz 2003). Similar to the theories of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Plato concurred that although the human body was mortal and after time, deteriorates and dies. He believed that the soul does not possess the same mortal character of the body and is therefore immortal and does not die or dissolve in the death of the physical body. Plato's theory on the composition of the soul differs from other theories as it is not limited to cognitive thought of the mind, but includes moral ethics and virtues such as love, courage, temperance and justice. The theory also includes what is considered to be immoral such as that of sexual desire, hate and anger (Lorenz 2003). Plato's works regarding the human soul such as Phadeus and The Republic are often said to be incomplete, as he does not discuss the soul in relation to life functions in the way that philosophers such as Aristotle do. It goes without saying that the contemplation of the human soul has been discussed, dissected and theorized for thousands of years. The different beliefs and theories are as numerous as the theologians and philosophers that discuss its' complexities. In religious based theology, it is said that the soul was created in the image of God or the Imago Dei. The Imago Dei theory posits that the soul is inherently spiritual as it was created in the likeness of God and God is a pure spirit (Duffner 97). As with other theories, the Imago Dei theory holds that the soul is immaterial and is neither dependant upon the matter of the human body to exist, nor is it subject to death as the body in which it inhabits dies. Through the soul, human beings have the capacity to know and share in God's love and possess free will. Mans' appetites and desires, or lower natures were said to be balanced with mans' intellect and will or higher natures (Duffner 97). The dissolution of this intended balance and harmony is evidenced in mans fall from grace with the rebellion against God of Adam and Eve and the consequent fall of the Garden of Eden. The free will that was bestowed upon humans by God was intended for the purpose of transcending to a higher spiritual plane through the teaching of God and Jesus Christ. It is by this free will though, that man is given free thought and the opportunity to rebel and revolt against spirituality. This occurs when decisions are based on the mans' lower natures such as those described as the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. It is through what is referred to as "The Fall" where conflict arises in the Imago Dei theory. In the book of Genesis, it is written that God created Heaven, Earth and according to the Imago Dei theory, man in his likeness and image. When God created the Garden of Eden, he too created the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in which Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat its' fruit. Eve, tempted by the serpent said to be Satan incarnate, eats the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and subsequently tempts Adam. So begins mans' fall from the grace of God as well as the fall of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are then banished from the Garden of Eden and forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life, thereby making them mortal. Consequently, all of human kind is born with Original Sin. The conflict arises in the fact that if human beings are created in the likeness of God, and then did God also create temptation and sin If God is the creator of all things, then did he not only create what is good, but what is evil as well as it is believed that one cannot exist without the other Are the dictators, despots, warlords, murderers and rapists all created in the image of God along side the nuns, priests, monks, doctors, nurses, and philanthropists Or is it through mans' own free will or volition, that the decision is made to become either healers and helpers or warlords and murderers and therefore evil is created through the unwise decisions of man If human beings are all created in the likeness of Gods' image, then does the Christian God too possess the qualities of evil but through his own free will, does not act upon them because he is he embodiment of all that is good All these questions and theorized and attempts at answers are made, but the fact remains that the good cannot exist without evil. It is in this dualist thought that a balance between the two is struck. Finally, if God is omniscient and omnipresent, as most religious theorists believe, what then, happens to the souls of the sinners Is it not God that can give them absolution and forgive them for their sins thereby permitting them the entrance of their souls through the Gates of Heaven The philosopher Socrates addresses the question of God and the creation of good and evil by stating that God is in fact not the author of all things in existence, but only that which is good (Lorenz 2003). In Thaetetus, Socrates goes on to acknowledge "It is necessary that there should always be something contrary to the good (Lorenz 2003). These questions bring theologians back to the continuing debate of the mind/body argument among religious and non-religious theorists alike. In most ancient philosophical text, the mind, as mentioned above, is equated with the soul. There are currently two major schools of thought regarding the mind/body problem. The first thought is Monistic, which states that the mind and body are not separate entities, but one cohesive unit. Theologists and philiosophers such as Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas support this theory. The second theory is Dualistic theory. This theory states that the mind and body or separate entities due to the fact that the body is material and the mind is immaterial. Such philosophers as Plato and Saint Augustine support this theory. Plato did not believe that the two deities of good and evil ruled the world, but rather, moral evil was a negative by-product of the union between soul and body (Lorenz 2003). These ancient theories of Plato, Saint Augustine and Saint Aquinas, were debated to in the attempt to arrive at concrete conclusions as to the definition, purpose and existence of the human soul. Today, the debate rages on, although it has entered into other realms of modern society that include the advancements in current technologies such as that of artificial intelligence and modern science such as stem cell research and the decoding of the human genome. Modern theorists have the opportunity to come to conclusions regarding the human soul not only through studying the teachings of ancient philosophers, but also by way of scientific research through modern technology. Thorough the study of neuroscience, Dr. John Allman conducted research on cells found in the brain called Spindle Cells. It is through the study of these cells that he discovered that during times of moral or ethical dilemmas, these cells fire more rapidly than other cells of the brain. He concluded that these cells are "more soulful" than other cells that exist in the brain. These Spindle Cells though, do not exist in the brain at birth, but appear at the age of four months and then rapidly multiply throughout our lives (Fuchs-Kreimer 2006). If Allmans' conclusion that the some cells in the brain are "more soulful" then others is accepted, the fact that these cells are not present at birth conflicts with the common theories that human beings soul is created at the time of conception. Although this study infers that science and theology are working in unison to find the answers to the common questions regarding the soul of a human being, this may not be the case. Science often works against the grain of theology and religion in order to disprove the existence of the human soul rather than prove its' existence. The continuing discovery of the human soul and its' importance in theology remains just as relevant today as it was in ancient times of Plato, Aquinas and Augustine. While definitions of theology differ through vernacular, the base of all definitions remains the same in its' revolution around religion. Saint Thomas Aquinas defined theology as "Sacred doctrine (theology) as unified science in which all things are treated under the aspect of God either because they are God himself or refer to God" (Wayne 2005). The Merriam-Webster definition that theology is defined as the "study of religious faith, practice and experience" does not vary much from that of Saint Augustine's (Merriam-Webster 2006). The study of the human soul, with the exception modern technology used in certain aspects of research, has not changed for thousands of years. As modern human beings, we remain seekers of the unknown just as ancient people were. The eternal questions of the composition of our souls and the purpose of our lives continue to remain unanswered. More questions continue to be raised as the human race advances in intelligence. For example, in the current controversies over cloning and stem cell research it is often debated when cells become human beings. If the theory that the life and the existence of the soul of a human being begins at conception, then what is to be said of the use of stem cells in the effort toward the eradication of various human suffering If the answer is to be based in religious theory, then by scientifically producing what would be a human being for the purpose of extracting cells, scientists are murdering the souls of the unborn. At the same time, if we are all truly God's Children, then would God not want the easement of human suffering As time moves on, it seems that the human race is creating more questions than it is answers. We continue as we did in ancient times to seek out the answers to the same questions asked by ancient philosophers. The truth is, we may never know whether or not the soul continues on after death. That answer may be found only in death. We may never know whether or not the soul dies when the physical body dies or whether or not the soul is a separate entity from the body. Theologians though, will continue to ponder and theorize such questions as they have done throughout the ages. Bibliography Aquinas, T., Summa Theologica, 1947 edition translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, electronic version, retrieved 20 May 2006. Available at http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/FP/FP075.html#FPQ75A1THEP1 Duffner, P., 1997, Theology for the Laity. The Human Soul, The Rosary Light and Life, Vol. 50 Num. 4, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://www.rosary-center.org/ll50n4.htm Fillipo, S., 2000, The Scriptural Roots of St. Augustine's Spirituality, Sacred Scripture, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Faith/Jan-Feb00/Scripture.html Fuchs-Kremmer, N., 2006, Jewish Theology and the Challenges of Neuroscience: The Case of Mordecai Kaplan, Metanexus Institute, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://www.metanexus.net/conferences/pdf/conference2006/Fuchs-Kreimer.pdf Kretzman N., Stump E., 1996, Online Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy, The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part1/sect3/texts/R_Aquinas.html Gannon-Murphy, S., no date, On the Doctrine of the Imago Dei, The Minnesota Apologetics Project, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://www.geocities.com/mnapologetics/ImagoDei.htm Lorenz, H., 2003, Ancient Theories of Soul, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, electronic version, retrieved 19 May 2006. Available at http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/ancient-soul McInerny, R., No date, A History of Western Philosophy 2.2, Jacques Maritain Center, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://www2.nd.edu/Departments//Maritain/etext/hwp202.htm Mendelson, M., 2003, Saint Augustine, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford Univerisity, electronic version, retrieved 21 May 2006. Available at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/#3 Read More