Do We Have Souls? Essay, Research Paper
Do We Have Souls?
On the question of ‘Do we have souls’ and ‘Can they survive after death’,
this writer will attempt a reasoned explanation and defense of my views to this
philosophical question. After careful explanation of my own views , thoughts,
and careful examination of the selected materials for this paper; I have come to
this conclusion: unlike the problem of free will, the question of human beings
having souls and their survival after the physical body is deceased, is not an
easily argued topic. The problem of free will [as an example] can be more
rationally discussed and analyzed through tangible means such as patterned and
learned behavior and its like, but in dealing with the question of souls and in
accepting their existence, it is an intangible thing which cannot be proved or
disproved [at least as long as the physical body is existing]. This writer
believe that a discussion , no matter how seemingly rational or even irrational
is purely speculation and can have no real physical proof of that existence. Of
the read philosophers on this topic, all are speculatory in their attempt to
prove, disprove, or even clarify their position of the topic in question. This
writer will first contribute his own speculation and proceed to explore the
selected philosophers material on this subject. Though it first must be said
that most of the read material is or seems to be question-begging and therefore
leads only to more questions from myself.
The question of having souls and their existence after the physical body is
deceased has always been on men’s minds. From the first beginnings of written
history from the Ancient Near Eastern civilizations [Egyptians, Mesopotamian] ,
men [people] have always regarded the afterlife and the question of souls. It
was not given much philosophical thought until the ancient Greek sophists, in
the decline of their city-states that this topic was explored, but not only
explored but started to gather acceptance among the people. Again, only when
‘physical’ life was becoming less cherished due to the decline and unhappiness
with their earthly surroundings. Though the Hebrew people spoke and thought of
an afterlife for their spirit, it was really not until widespread Christianity
came about, and again this was at the time of decline of the Roman Empire. My
initial point being that the idea of souls and their existence seemed to grow
stronger at times of great depression or strife [much like when people pray to
God when they only need something]. It was then that faith and hope for a better
life after this one was at its greatest. Thus the emergence of the powerful
religions such as Christianity and Islam, who base their teachings of faith on
the fact [or non-fact] that there is a better life after this one, but to get
there “you must join us and participate within our rules and propagate our faith
that we give you”. This is called conditional immortality [A.E. Taylor, p.601].
The ability to believe one has a soul and its existence after the physical
body dies is not only for the participants in organized religion. I believe that
the human body and mind work together over a lifetime to develop what I will
myself call a soul or spirit, and with the advent of this soul – a place for it
to exist without the physical body. I feel that the real close-minded thinking
comes from the thought that life [in any sense] is over at the time of physical
death, just as it may be close-minded to think that we are existing alone in the
vast cosmos. I will concede that with our earthly rational thought that it is
difficult to rationalize an existence after this one, so I am able to understand
why some people believe that when the physical life is over, it truly is over.
To give an analogy on how I believe the soul is developed: the development
of the soul is like the programming of a computer it is fed all the various
information and it is that information when it is in the computer that it
defines itself by using the definitive information it has been given for the
greater purpose of its ultimate use. The soul [I believe] is the culmination of
learned information that is developed through the course of the physical
existence, using its resources together [mind and body] to define itself for a
greater purpose, which may very well be the afterlife of a soul. It is those
defining characteristics that we develop throughout our lifetime that make us
who we are – one might be able to call it personality.
As with most difficult philosophical issues, answers lead to more questions
such as where did the soul come from, what does it consist of [tangible or
intangible material?, or both?] and what really happens to it – what is its
ultimate purpose [excluding Christian thought]? These are questions presumably
that everyone has, but it is when we try and answer these questions with
‘earthly’ or ‘personable’ [Antony G.N. Flew, p.615] descriptions or categorizing
them is where we go wrong. Because we are dealing with something that is derived
from and exists totally on faith, tangible to us at present, and the only way to
prove or disprove beyond speculation – is to end the physical one – and thus
there is no way to solve the problem or question. Clarifying, what I’m saying is
that on an issue or problem such as this you cannot rationalize it with regular
philosophic deduction. In Lamonts ” The Illusion of Immortality” , he has used
science to deduce that there is no life for the mind/personality/soul after
physical death and rationalizing it by saying this is “common sense”. Again we
are dealing with something that is totally reliant on faith [which has really
nothing to do with common sense] , and by that point alone it cannot be proved
by science or earthly reasoning, But as this writer has found in philosophy, it
is easier to disagree or attempt to disprove, rather than prove.
To sum up my own views, I shall borrow from Antony G.N. Flew in his ” Can A
Man Witness His Own Funeral”, : “I can survive my death” [a metaphor for
afterlife or existence of a soul] ” cannot be self contradictory and therefore
senseless, because it refers to a possibility which is not mearly conceivable
but imaginable”.
I would now like to explore more fully the selected philosophers in their
discussion of if we have souls and is there an afterlife for these souls.
Gilbert Ryle in “Descartes’ Myth” gives the “Official Descartes Doctrine”
[on souls] as follows. ” With doubtful exceptions of idiots and infants in arms,
every human being has both a body and a mind”. What he is saying here is quite
obvious, but further interpretation of the whole passage seems to be this: we
all have the ‘tools’ [body and mind] but that they lead two separate existence’s,
the physical body and mind being one of external existence, and the “hidden”
mind being one of internal. Human beings have both the mind and body and both
work together – they both also work separately and that separation being the
‘hidden’ mind. Again, both are said to work together in the physical sense [body
mechanics] but the mind also works independently from the physical body. What
may not be fully clear is if he is meaning the sub conscience [which is referred
to in the passage] or to the soul itself, and are they even separate entities to
him? He talks of the hidden mind and quotes “…the actual transactions between
the episodes of the private and the public history remain mysterious, since by
definition they can belong to either series”. What I interpret him saying is
that the mind records and perceives its own series of perceptions that are not
only hidden from ourselves, but from everybody else. These are kept ’secret’ and
separate from even our own memories, perception and so on that we can usually
see or call to mind. Ryle refutes Descartes theory [as do I] in the fact that he
has put a boundary on defining mind and body. Ryle does not feel the mind is
bound to ‘mechanical laws’ [as Descartes does] like the body, which is what
Descartes theory is all about. Because Descartes theorized that if the body is
bound by mechanical laws and causes , so must the mind be – non mechanical laws-
including the hidden mind. All of his references to the secret and hidden mind
are by my observation, regarding or referring to the soul.
To sum up Ryle, he is saying that the mind and the body are not separate,
but that the mind has two parts – hidden and observed- and that the hidden mind
is not subject to the physical/mechanical laws or non-mechanical forces [which
is unclear to what those are]. They [the hidden/seen mind] exist separately from
each other but both are necessary to the complete mind. Ryle basically feels
that Descartes theory was a ‘category mistake’ and was categorized incorrectly
because he included the whole mind and body together, thus both were subject to
the laws and causes of both. So if the two terms belong to the same category;
it would be proper to construct prepositions embodying them. Descartes and Ryle
both agree though that there is another facet to the mind, possibly what can be
called the soul.
I have chose to write at some extent on Ryles’ article because we share
similar basic views [that are also along the same line as Descartes]. I believe
that there is a separation between the physical mind which controls the body and
harbors memories and its like, and that the soul is really an extension of our
real self and that physical or tangible mind. It is that ‘hidden mind’ that all
of the selected articles have referred to as a ‘personality’ of some sort, and
that this personality [soul] is our real self which is defined throughout our
lifetime by our surroundings and that is developed along with our development as
human beings [along the lines of 'trial and tribulations of life']. I do not
feel that this personality/soul can be proved by any type of conventional
laboratory test or any type of philosophical deduction, and that we are dealing
with something that is an untouchable extension of ourselves which really cannot
be probed by any means except our own belief. Thus it is within ourselves and
may be part of our soul development to justify its existence and whether it goes
on to another existence.
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