Soul as the Basis for Personal Identity

According to the soul notion of identity

Another person might offer themselves to others and pretend to be someone else. As a result, the study's thesis implies that another human body may be you, rather than this one, which only thinks it's you. In philosophy, a soul is defined as a mystical perception of living organisms ranging from man to the smallest creature of creation (Cleversley, 2). Additionally, the soul is believed to be separable from the body such that at the time of death, the soul tends to leave the body. However, this is just but a theory for the Christians. Some religious doctrines do not believe in the concept of a separable soul. Some beliefs hold that the soul is reincarnated meaning is reborn in another soul, but again this is just a belief (Trichenor, 35). The soul has three parts namely the emotional, will and mind being of the soul. The three elements are spiritually interconnected. The existence of a being is made possible by the collaboration of this three parts of the soul.

Proving the identity of a soul is not straightforward

Because the soul is not a tangible object. Therefore, it will be as good as making efforts to prove the existence of an object that does not exist. Some scientists would assume the soul to be electromagnetic, but then how would they get these electromagnets into a jar that cannot be collected physically. Therefore, it would be difficult to determine the presence of the soul compared to fish or cloud because unlike the two the soul does not have mass nor physical appearance (Trichenor, 14).

Humans with a soul are believed to those that are alive with virtues

That make them human such as justice and bravery. More so, the soul is not only in charge of psychological or mental capacities such as thought, discernment, and desire, as well as the conveyor of good qualities, but also accounts for the entire imperative functions that any living creatures perform. Henceforth, given two brothers unless one is dead then both of them will have a soul. The living one with the soul will portray all of the above characteristics of the function of the soul (Trichenor, 15). However, if both brothers are alive, then there is no way to claim that one has a soul and the other does not because as long as a being is alive, then it has a soul.

The existence of the soul outside humans is a topic of discussion

Some doctrines believe that all creatures have a soul and that upon death the soul leaves the body and lives on as reincarnated creature. For instance, when a person dies, their souls can be reborn in fellow being such as kids during birth or can be reincarnated as animals and vice versa (Trichenor, 35). Nevertheless, these are just but theories that have never been proven. Stories from people who have had near perish experiences claim to have seen hell or heaven. The stories could be some of the reasons to point out that there is life after death and that the soul upon death leaves the body because there is no way this could be possible if a soul never existed. Researchers have however claimed that indeed there is life after death because the soul never dies.

Based on the above argument that the soul never dies

It means that reincarnation is real. Therefore, if a specific person\u2019s soul was reborn in another being, then the new human will bare qualities, behaviors and act like the person whose soul has been reincarnated. Therefore, to identify that a particular person had certain traits at some time, then the new being with the reincarnated soul will always portray the same characteristics. The soul provides personal identity because it is what controls the psychological and mental functions. Therefore, a person is who they are because of the nature of their souls (Cleversley, 5). The soul maintains personal identity by retaining that particular existence trait that cannot be changed. It is this eternal existence that continues the characters of a being such that a 70-year-old man is still that 5-year-old boy with the same way of life just that physically they look different but internally it is always the same person. When the soul leaves the body temporarily, it is controlled by the subconscious of that particular person. Therefore, it is this subconscious that will draw the soul back to its rightful body. The body that this soul left and came back to remains the same because upon returning the body continues functioning and behaving as before. The soul controls the mind of a being. Therefore, the soul can make the brain retrieve memories (Baker and Goetz 11). As such, the aspect of remembrance continuity is an adequate aspect of personal identity. If an older person can recall an experience they underwent, then it means they can recall themselves at a younger age. Hence, the ability to remember previous experiences indicates that the soul in the current person is that which they had at a younger generation.

Scientists and religious persons have made numerous efforts to prove the existence of the soul

Religiously, the presence of the soul has been confirmed by stories from people who claim have seen hell of heaven at a time when they were in a coma or about to die but came back to life. Scientifically, the existence of the soul is evidenced when one sleeps. Science believes that when one sleeps, the pineal glands release Dimethyltryptamine which causes the soul to leave the body temporarily, a state called an unconscious astral projection commonly known as dreaming (Cleversley, 19). It is this dreaming that a person\u2019s soul leaves the body. Scientists say that if one wakes up earlier before the soul returns, then they will, upon returning, feel dizzy and feel like falling or the head about to explode. This experience indicates that the soul is present in a person\u2019s body. If a soul is detected in a body, days later, to prove that the soul is the same, then that body should exhibit the same characteristics and behaviors like days before.

References

Cleversley, M. Jenna, Exploring the Concept of the Human Soul from a Religious, Psychological, and Neuro-Scientific Perspective, Page, 2-39

Baker C. Mark and Goetz Stewart, A Scientific Case for the Soul,” in The Soul Hypothesis: Investigations into the Existence of the Soul, New York: Continuum International, 2011, pp. 222–46.

Tichenor, M. Henry, The theory of reincarnation explained. (2003). Praxis International, Inc. Page 6-38