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What is a soul?

And what does it mean to be "spiritual'?

Discuss.

I would imagine that in the broadest sense, "spiritual" means going beyond yourself, seeking something bigger to be part of. In religion, that means being closer to God; in society it means charity, putting others' needs before your own. Even "school spirit" means you're there for your school, the institution with all its faculty and fellow students.

In essence, I suppose one could say, to be spiritual is to see, with positive regard, the unity of things.

In my work, the spirit is your representation in the spiritual planes (etheric plane, astral plane, etc.) while the soul is your ideal representation. According to the Valascian church the spirit detached itself from the soul with first death of man (spiritual death).

This is actually an interesting question from a secular perspective. I've seen writers/thinkers try to co-opt the terms for secular use, redefining "soul" not as an ethereal or divine entity but as a more empirical collection of experiences and thoughts that make up our perception of ourselves. Or sometimes as our imprint on the world; a soul via lasting impressions on others. Same with spirituality, which can exist in a secular context, though what it means exactly will change slightly.

I'm not sure if I endorse such attempts to borrow the terms from religion. I don't disagree with their new definition or usage, but I wonder if religious terms actually need to be co-opted for secular use. Would it just be better to dismiss the concepts entirely? Does it muddy our understanding of empirical concepts to use words that bring with them religious preconceptions?

I have similar issue with determinists co-opting the phrase "free will" for their purposes. To someone with enough background in the topic, "libertarian free will" and "compatibilist free will" make perfect sense. To most, however, it creates confusion, and puts one philosophical camp in the background because the other is more widely understood.

So I tend not to think in such terms. What's a soul to me? I don't know, because I don't believe souls exist in the religious sense, and my worldview precludes the need for me to redefine it for myself. Same with spirituality. If the awe and wonder we feel toward life, and our pursuit of and experience of such feelings, must be defined as spirituality, ok. But it's not how I think of it, nor how it needs to be thought of.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
What is a soul?

And what does it mean to be "spiritual'?

Discuss.

Its a misunderstanding. People of the past didn't know how our bodies worked, so they made up things to explain what they didn't know. Typical humans.

A soul? To be honest, I wouldn't know. Maybe the archetypical abstract concept of any personality? The schematics that defines us? If humans are made of activities and choices, just like fictional characters are made from descriptions and verbs, then a soul would be the impression left by what we do. By definition it would go further than our actual existence, but it would be correlated to us.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Its a misunderstanding. People of the past didn't know how our bodies worked, so they made up things to explain what they didn't know. Typical humans.

Not sure that was it. At times I feel we ride a bit too much on our ancestors saying they believed stuff literaly and they used it as an excuse to ignorance. Sure, there must've been that kind of idiots in the past, but also people who knew better.

I'm just iffy about that because it sounds like a very simplified take on the subject.

Jesus said; "It's what comes out of the body..."

Originally posted by Wonder Man
Jesus said; "It's what comes out of the body..." I trust he worded it better than that, cuz there are a few things that come out of the body.

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As regards a soul...I tend to see "soul" and "self" -- or more precisely, the self-process -- as synonymous. It is the holistic dynamic by which the Absolute ("God" individualizes consciousness (in a non-materialist paradigm). It's two dominant attributes are identification/attachment and dis-identification/detachment. This is how the self-process ascends the developmental ladder, from infancy to childhood to adulthood to (if one is inclined to believe) the transcendent stages.