Q&A 190

A.  So first of all, is the soul of a brain dead person still in his/her body assuming functions such as circulation and breathing are still active?  Answer is yes.

Then, do single-celled organisms have a soul?  I think Aristotle settled this one.

Basically all living things have a life-force that we can call a “soul”.  So single-celled organisms have a soul, plants have a soul, animals have a soul, etc.

Obviously however, the souls are not identical; or the use of the word "soul" for each separate hierarchy of being doesn't mean that they are identical.  It's like using the word math to describe what Std. 1 kids do, what Std. 8 kids do, what F4 kids do and what you guys do in engineering.  Yes it is all math, but there is a helluva difference between them. Additionally, the math of the Std. 1 is included in the math of an engineer.  So too, the soul of a single-celled dudu is included in the soul of rational being like man.

Q. Yes the example of the maths used is true as things such as addition do not go away even as one rises through their math education.

However this explanation is just an assertion. One just asserts that there is a life-force and that life force is a soul.

A. More of a conclusion.  Premis by premis until you reach a conclusion.  But either way, assertion or not, I think what we should be keen on is whether the assertion is true or not.  Just as with black holes…  It's just an assertion.

Q. Well I do not see those as premises for there being a soul.  The most we know is that cells are powered by biochemical reactions.  These reactions are as per the laws of chemistry.   We would have to say these biochemical reactions are the ones driven by the soul.

A.  So there is a soul?

Q. No. What I am saying is to call the life-force of cells a soul would be to say the biochemical reactions in cells are driven by the soul. A position I disagree with.

A.  Well in that case let’s just go all the way back to what Aristotle had to say...

That in the visible created universe we see

1.  There is such a thing as a hierarchy of being

That is, different levels of being.  Chemicals have an existence very different from that of plants, plants from those of animals and animals from that of humans.

2.  We notice also that these hierarchies are distinct

Physical laws that triumph and dictate existence in one level do not necessarily carry the day in a higher level.  For example, chemicals (elements) have laws that we have for the most part discovered through physics and chemistry (when they are in our reachable environment, or through astrophysics and astrology when they are not).

But these basic laws of physics are consistently flouted in plants e.g. the law of osmosis or active transport goes against the law of diffusion.  In animals, the basic law of instinct is flouted by the law of choice in humans.

To be continued…

Happy Sunday!

23rd Dec 2018