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Eastern vs. Western Concepts of the Soul

Eastern vs. Western Concepts of the Soul. Aaron Hogue. Ancient Greeks. Plato/Socrates/Pythagoreans soul is a rational, emotional, ghostly entity that breathes life into the body departs at death reincarnated Aristotle Soul is activity of body, source of rationality

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Eastern vs. Western Concepts of the Soul

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  1. Eastern vs. Western Concepts of the Soul Aaron Hogue

  2. Ancient Greeks • Plato/Socrates/Pythagoreans • soul is a rational, emotional, ghostly entity that breathes life into the body • departs at death • reincarnated • Aristotle • Soul is activity of body, source of rationality • Intellect of soul persists after death

  3. Western Monotheism(Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Bahai) • Body infused with soul by god at conception • Restricted to humans • Soul has no past, but persists after death in heaven or hell (depending on whether you are a true believer and/or good person)

  4. Western Mysticism • Kabbalah (Judaism) – 3 souls, lowest shared with other animals, upper 2 persist after death and reunited permanently upon resurrection • Gnosticism (Christianity) – 3 souls, unification of upper two in realized Gnostics is followed by their union with The Source at end of time. Unrealized folks go nowhere. • Sufi (Islam) – highest state of soul is merger with the divine.

  5. Western Materialism • Soul doesn’t exist • Personality, morality, intellect are an epiphenomenon of the brain & body

  6. Hinduism • A discrete entity called “Jiva” or “Atman” persists from life to life (Reincarnation) • Found in all beings • Governed by karma • Two main schools of thought: • Advaita - Atman is part of, or one with, the divine (“Brahman”) • Dvaita – Atman is separate from Brahman; Atman is indivisible and unchanging

  7. Jainism • All beings have a discrete, unending soul that persists from life to life. • Souls go to heaven or hell according to karma, but these are not permanent states. • Highest state of soul is attainment of permanent state of bliss (soul still distinct).

  8. Buddhism • No distinct, permanent “self” (anatman) … it’s constantly changing. • Believe in reincarnation, not of discrete souls, but of ever-changing, localized currents in a sea of consciousness. • Governed by karma (cause & effect) • Ultimate “goal” is to end cycle of birth and death by ending attachment … thereby ending one’s apparent (illusory) separateness from the underlying Buddha-nature.

  9. Taoism • All people have multiple, malleable elements which may be thought of as souls. • These come from various sources, including one’s parents. • The ideal in Taoism is to achieve harmony or balance between the souls.

  10. Questions • Is the concept of the soul universal? Anthropologist George Murdock, argues belief in a soul (at least in some form) is one of 67 universals of culture … do you agree? • If there is a soul, where does it come from? • If there is a soul, where is it located, and does it have a material basis? • Is the soul a discrete entity that survives death?

  11. More Questions • Does the soul think, remember, and experience emotions? If it is responsible for reason, how does it differ from the brain? • Does the soul reincarnate? If so, can past incarnations be “remembered?” • Does the soul change? • If so, how, and is there a point that it changes so much that it is no longer the same thing? • If not, how can we grow as individuals, how can our thoughts or actions influence or soul’s fate?

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