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Questions tagged [souls]

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Why is it an unpopular view, among philosophers and religious people, that a human being has a supernatural, spiritual soul?

I used to believe that a human being has a supernatural, spiritual soul and that it is obvious for the reasons stated below. I was very surprised to find out that not only secular philosophy, but even Catholic academic theology seem to reject this…
gaazkam
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Is there a modern, secular argument for the soul?

In modern times it is common to think the soul is a religious belief. Even though the original arguments for the soul were not religious (e.g. Plato and Aristotle, and more recently Descartes, Leibniz, and even more recently Thomas Nagel), we still…
yters
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A metaphysical soul without an axiom for such?

Are there any schools of philosophy (or models therein) whose premises non-trivially imply the existence of a metaphysical soul? Or does the concept of a metaphysical soul only exist in practice through direct axiom? Further clarification by…
DuckMaestro
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Buddhism in Phaedo

At the end of Phaedo, Socrates proves, in his own manner, that the soul is immortal and goes through an endless cycle of metempsychosis and, "if deemed to have lived an extremely pious life are freed and released from the regions of the earth as…
Kandrax
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On what basis do we assume that people are similar?

In philosophical discussions, when we e.g. talk about souls (mind-body problem) or consciousness, it is often assumed that people are similar. This is why we ask whether "we" have souls, or why "our" consciousness works. It is always assumed…
ewo
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How can the soul be a form in Aristotle's metaphysics but continue to exist after the body's destruction?

Many authors, especially in introductory books, seem to characterize Aristotle's forms as some kind of structure or organizational feature of matter, which seems to be compatible with a reductionist view of nature. Others characterize it as a…
viuser
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Can anyone recommend a good book on The Self?

I don't have any formal education on philosophy but I read some books including Think by Simon Blackburn that got me interested in this subject. Thanks. Edit: Specifically, I was intrigued by Kant's conception of the self as an "organizing…
Gashaw
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Is it rationally possible to believe in a sensationless soul after death?

Epicurus's thoughts on death were: -Death is the cessation of sensation -Good and evil only make sense in terms of sensation Therefore: Death is neither good nor evil My (sort of related) question about death: I was wondering if it's possible to…
Tobias Ethercroft
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Within scholastics, how does animals' perception work, when compared to humans' apprehension of universals?

In the study of scholastic philosophy, I'm struggling with this question for a while: It seems like dogs do know what dogs are. Aquinas states that animals have perception, capable of complex cognition: By definition, the living things that we call…
hellofriends
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Would rebuilding a human body rebuild the person it was?

I have zero background in philosophy, so forgive me for...asking this in an informal manner. We have a hypothetical scenario. Suppose that our consciousness at some time were reducible to electrobiological material in our body, including…
astiara
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Anaesthesia and an Immaterial Soul -- Edit Anaesthesia and Awareness

Consider that undergoing anesthesia completely suppresses consciousness. If one posits the existence of an immaterial soul which survives bodily death, how do they reconcile that the immaterial soul cannot even experience consciousness when one is…
user7348
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What are the objections to the Affinity Argument in the Phaedo?

The Phaedo proposes four arguments for the immortality of the soul. The third of these is the Affinity Argument, and goes something like this: There are two kinds of existences: (a) the visible world that we perceive with our senses, which is…
user28479
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Why did Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas believe that the fetus only receives a rational soul at a later stage of pregnancy?

What is different about a fetus at this later stage to deserve a rational soul?
Guilherme de Souza
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Plato's tripartite soul and Chariot Allegory

I liked Plato's tripartite soul theory but am confused with its analogy of the chariot. Maybe I am missing some good definitions. I very well understand that logos is related to the charioteer. But the "the thymos (θυμοειδές), or thumetikon…
george
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Hume's analogy to prove that the soul is mortal

Passage from "The immortality of the soul" by David Hume Where any two items x and y are so closely connected that all alterations we have ever seen in x are accompanied by corresponding alterations in y, we ought to conclude—by all the rules of…
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