The Ancient Greeks used the same word for 'alive' as for 'ensouled'. So the earliest surviving Western philosophical view might suggest that the soul makes living things alive. Soul - Socrates and Plato. Plato, drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, considers the soul as the essence of a person, as that which decides how we act. He considered this essence as an incorporeal occupant of our being. The Platonic soul comprises three parts: the reason (mind or logos) the appetite (body or passion) spirit (emotion or pathos). Each of these has ...

See also:

Soul, Soul - Etymologies, Soul - Philosophical views, Soul - Socrates and Plato, Soul - Aristotle, Soul - Religious views, Soul - Bahá'í beliefs, Soul - Buddhist beliefs, Soul - Christian beliefs, Soul - Hindu beliefs, Soul - Islamic beliefs, Soul - Jainist beliefs, Soul - Jewish beliefs, Soul - Other religious beliefs and views, Soul - Science and the soul, Soul - Materialistic Science and the Soul, Soul - Scientific approaches for study of a non-material soul, Soul - Other uses of the term, Soul - Movie, Soul - External references and links

Read more here: » Soul: Encyclopedia II - Soul - Philosophical views

See also:

Soul, Soul - Etymologies, Soul - Philosophical views, Soul - Socrates and Plato, Soul - Aristotle, Soul - Religious views, Soul - Bahá'í beliefs, Soul - Buddhist beliefs, Soul - Christian beliefs, Soul - Hindu beliefs, Soul - Islamic beliefs, Soul - Jainist beliefs, Soul - Jewish beliefs, Soul - Other religious beliefs and views, Soul - Science and the soul, Soul - Materialistic Science and the Soul, Soul - Scientific approaches for study of a non-material soul, Soul - Other uses of the term, Soul - Movie, Soul - External references and links

Read more here: » Soul: Encyclopedia II - Soul - Religious views

Western science and medicine do recognize the concept of soul or the idea of a soul entity, though many practitioners regard it as an element of Folk psychology. In contrast, Traditional Chinese medicine accepts the existence of a soul as more than just an idea (see Shen). The two dominant scientific approaches to study of the soul can be distinguished by the emphasis they place on two alternative hypotheses: Materialistic accounts of human brain function and scientific study of cultural belief systems will ultimately tell us ev ...

See also:

Soul, Soul - Etymologies, Soul - Philosophical views, Soul - Socrates and Plato, Soul - Aristotle, Soul - Religious views, Soul - Bahá'í beliefs, Soul - Buddhist beliefs, Soul - Christian beliefs, Soul - Hindu beliefs, Soul - Islamic beliefs, Soul - Jainist beliefs, Soul - Jewish beliefs, Soul - Other religious beliefs and views, Soul - Science and the soul, Soul - Materialistic Science and the Soul, Soul - Scientific approaches for study of a non-material soul, Soul - Other uses of the term, Soul - Movie, Soul - External references and links

Read more here: » Soul: Encyclopedia II - Soul - Science and the soul

The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) — particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being. The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly, even within a given religion, as to what happens to the soul after death. Many wi ...

Including:

Soul - Etymologies Soul - Philosophical views
Soul - Socrates and Plato Soul - Aristotle
Soul - Religious views
Soul - Bahá'í beliefs Soul - Buddhist beliefs Soul - Christian beliefs Soul - Hindu beliefs Soul - Islamic beliefs Soul - Jainist beliefs Soul - Jewish beliefs Soul - Other religious beliefs and views
Soul - Science and the soul
Soul - Materialistic Science and the Soul Soul - Scientific approaches for study of a non-material soul
Soul - Other uses of the term Soul - Movie Soul - External references and links

Read more here: » Soul: Encyclopedia - Soul

Adi Sankaracharya and Ramanujacharya were great philosophers. Their road maps to the Absolute reflect the essence of Indian spiritual thought and tradition, although they held divergent views - while Sankara advocated monism or advaita, Ramanuja believed in vishishtadvaita, that contains elements of both advaita and dvaita philosophy.

(See also: Sankara and Ramanuja, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sankara and Ramanuja: Double Celebration - Sankara & Ramanuja  

Holocaust theology refers to a body of theological and philosophical debate, soul-searching, and analysis, with the subsequent related literature, that attempts to come to grips with various conflicting views about the role of God in this human world and the dark events of the European Holocaust that occurred during World War II (1939-1945) when around 11 million people, including six million Jews were subjected to genocide by the Nazis and their cohorts. "Holocaust theology" is also referred to as "theology nach Auschwitz" ("after Auschwitz" in German), due to the common practice of using ...

Including:

Holocaust theology - Jewish theological responses
Holocaust theology - Orthodox and Haredi Jewish responses Holocaust theology - Modern Orthodox Jewish views
Holocaust theology - Works of important Jewish theologians
Holocaust theology - Michael Berenbaum Holocaust theology - Richard Rubinstein Holocaust theology - Emil Fackenheim Holocaust theology - Ignaz Maybaum Holocaust theology - Eliezer Berkovits Holocaust theology - Harold Kushner Williams Kaufman and Milton Steiberg Holocaust theology - David Weiss Halivni Holocaust theology - Irving Greenberg
Holocaust theology - Christian view
Holocaust theology - Works of important Christian theologians

Read more here: » Holocaust theology: Encyclopedia - Holocaust theology

A leading exponent of the substantial view was George Berkeley, an 18th century Anglican bishop and philosopher. Berkeley argued that there is no such thing as matter and what humans see as the material world is nothing but an idea in God's mind, and that therefore the human mind is purely a manifestation of the soul or spirit or similar. This type of belief is also common in certain types of spiritual non-dualistic belief, but outside this field few philosophers take an extreme view today. However, the view that the human mind is of a nature or essence somehow different from, and higher than, ...

See also:

Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind

Both philosophers and psychologists remain divided about the nature of the mind. Some take what is known as the substantial view, and argue that the mind is a single entity, perhaps having its base in the brain but distinct from it and having an autonomous existence. This view ultimately derives from Plato, and was absorbed from him into Christian thought. In its most extreme form, the substantial view merges with the theological view that the mind is an entity wholly separate from the body, in fact a manifestation of the soul, which will survive the b ...

See also:

Mind, Mind - Theories of the mind, Mind - Nature of the mind, Mind - History of the philosophy of the mind, Mind - Current research

Read more here: » Mind: Encyclopedia II - Mind - Nature of the mind

Plato's philosophical views had many societal implications, especially on the idea of an ideal state or government. There is some discrepancy between his early and later views. Some of the most famous doctrines are contained in the Republic during his middle period. Plato asserts that individual people have three distinctive functions, just like the soul: Productive (Workers) - The laborers, carpenters, plumbers, masons, merchants, farmers, ranchers, etc. These correspond to the "appetite" part of the soul.< ...

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Plato, Plato - Biography, Plato - Work, Plato - Themes, Plato - Form and basis, Plato - Metaphysics, Plato - Epistemology, Plato - The state, Plato - Platonic scholarship, Plato - Bibliography, Plato - By tetralogy, Plato - Stephanus pagination, Plato - Loeb Classical Library

Read more here: » Plato: Encyclopedia II - Plato - The state

In 1773 he made his first appearance as an author with a Philosophical Essay on Man. The book shows a wonderful knowledge of English, French, German, Italian and Spanish philosophers, and directly attacks Helvetius, who had in his De l'esprit declared a knowledge of science unnecessary for a philosopher. Marat declares that physiology alone can solve the problems of the connection between soul and body, and proposes the existence of a nervous fluid as the true solution. In 1774 he published The Chains of Slavery [1], whi ...

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Jean-Paul Marat, Jean-Paul Marat - Life, Jean-Paul Marat - Childhood and education, Jean-Paul Marat - Scientist and physician, Jean-Paul Marat - Marat enters politics, Jean-Paul Marat - The People's Friend, Jean-Paul Marat - The National Convention, Jean-Paul Marat - Views of Marat, Jean-Paul Marat - Artistic and theatrical representations, Jean-Paul Marat - Marat's works

Read more here: » Jean-Paul Marat: Encyclopedia II - Jean-Paul Marat - Scientist and physician

In 1773 he made his first appearance as an author with a Philosophical Essay on Man. The book shows a wonderful knowledge of English, French, German, Italian and Spanish philosophers, and directly attacks Helvetius, who had in his De l'esprit declared a knowledge of science unnecessary for a philosopher. Marat declares that physiology alone can solve the problems of the connection between soul and body, and prop ...

See also:

Jean-Paul Marat, Jean-Paul Marat - Life, Jean-Paul Marat - Childhood and education, Jean-Paul Marat - Scientist and physician, Jean-Paul Marat - Marat enters politics, Jean-Paul Marat - The People's Friend, Jean-Paul Marat - The National Convention, Jean-Paul Marat - Views of Marat, Jean-Paul Marat - Artistic and theatrical representations, Jean-Paul Marat - Marat's works

Read more here: » Jean-Paul Marat: Encyclopedia II - Jean-Paul Marat - Scientist and physician

Plato's philosophical views had many societal implications, especially on the idea of an ideal state or government. There is some discrepancy between his early and later views. Some of the most famous doctrines are contained in the Republic during his middle period. Plato asserts that societies have a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite/spirit/reason structure of the individual soul. Productive (Workers) - The laborers, carpenters, plumbers, masons, merchants, farmers, ranchers, etc. The ...

See also:

Plato, Plato - Biography, Plato - Work, Plato - Themes, Plato - Form and basis, Plato - Metaphysics, Plato - Epistemology, Plato - The state, Plato - Platonic scholarship, Plato - Bibliography, Plato - By tetralogy, Plato - Stephanus pagination, Plato - Chronology, Plato - Middle Dialogues, Plato - Loeb Classical Library

Read more here: » Plato: Encyclopedia II - Plato - The state

The study of views of the afterlife is a concern of Eschatology, which deals with the soul, the resurrection of the dead, the messianic era, and the end of the world. The question of whether or not there is life after death is closely related to the mind-body problem, and like that problem is one of the classic problems of so-called rational psychology and hence of one (now largely outdated) notion of the scope of metaphysics. The later works of Emanuel Swedenborg present one of the most comprehensive and systematic descriptions of th ...

See also:

Afterlife, Afterlife - Afterlife as a belief, Afterlife - Afterlife as an individual existence, Afterlife - Afterlife as reward or punishment, Afterlife - Afterlife as reincarnation, Afterlife - Related studies, Afterlife - Criticism, Afterlife - Philosophical arguments

Read more here: » Afterlife: Encyclopedia II - Afterlife - Related studies

Aristotle, the prince of the philosophers, demonstrated the unity of God; but from the view which he maintained, that matter was eternal, it followed that God could not be the Creator of the world. Again, to assert, as the Peripatetics did, that God's knowledge extends only to the general laws of the universe, and not to individual and accidental things, is tantamount to giving denial to prophecy. One other point shocked the faith of the Motekallamin—the theory of the intellect. The Peripatetics taught that the human soul was only an aptit ...

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Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Early Philosophy, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Argument for creation, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Saadia Gaon, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Neoplatonic philosophy, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - The apotheosis of philosophy, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Maimonides, Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Averroism

Read more here: » Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies: Encyclopedia II - Joint Jewish and Islamic Philosophies - Argument for creation

W.E.B. DuBois argues that racialism is the philosophical belief that differences between the races exist, be it biological, social, psychological, or in the realm of the soul. He then goes on to argue that racism is using this belief to push forward the argument that one's particular race is superior to the others. Therefore, Dubois separates the conditions of racism from racism itself. (Anthony Kwame Appiah summarises Dubois' position in his book In My Father's House, chapter 3.) Racialism in this view is a value-neutral philosop ...

See also:

Racialism, Racialism - Distinguishing from racism, Racialism - Use by white separatist and white supremacist groups, Racialism - W. E. B. DuBois, Racialism - Identity politics, Racialism - Sources

Read more here: » Racialism: Encyclopedia II - Racialism - W. E. B. DuBois

W.E.B. DuBois argues that racialism is the philosophical belief that differences between the races exist, be it biological, social, psychological, or in the realm of the soul. He then goes on to argue that racism is using this belief to push forward the argument that one's particular race is superior to the others. Therefore, Dubois separates the conditions of racism from racism itself. (Anthony Kwame Appiah summarises Dubois' position in his book In My Father's House, chapter 3.) Racialism in this view is a value-neutral philosop ...

See also:

Racialism, Racialism - Distinguishing from racism, Racialism - Use by white separatist and white supremacist groups, Racialism - W. E. B. DuBois, Racialism - Identity politics, Racialism - Notes

Read more here: » Racialism: Encyclopedia II - Racialism - W. E. B. DuBois

Scientists and naturalist philosophers largely agree that humans consist of a body alone (roughly the physicalist or reductionist view); or that they also have minds, the locus of, or another word for, consciousness (roughly the dualist position). However, many people further believe that humans also have a soul or spirit that survives death; that is, they believe there is an afterlife. There is debate within religious organizations as to whether non-human animals can be said to have souls; some believe they do, while others believe t ...

See also:

Culture of human beings, Culture of human beings - Language, Culture of human beings - Race and ethnicity, Culture of human beings - Religion, Culture of human beings - Animism, Culture of human beings - Mysticism, Culture of human beings - Polytheism, Culture of human beings - Monotheism, Culture of human beings - Humanism, Culture of human beings - Society

Read more here: » Culture of human beings: Encyclopedia II - Culture of human beings - Religion

Eckhart was one of the most influential Christian Neoplatonists, and although technically a faithful Thomist (as a prominent member of the Dominican Order), Eckhart wrote on metaphysics and spiritual psychology, drawing extensively on mythic imagery. Major German philosophers, from Hegel to Heidegger, have been influenced by his work. Novel concepts Eckhart introduced into Christian metaphysics clearly deviate from the common scholastic canon: in Eckhart's vision, God is primarily fertile. Out of overabundance of love the fertile God ...

See also:

Meister Eckhart, Meister Eckhart - Overview, Meister Eckhart - Life, Meister Eckhart - Works and doctrines, Meister Eckhart - View of God, Meister Eckhart - Trinitarian process, Meister Eckhart - God in Creation, Meister Eckhart - Relation of the Soul to God, Meister Eckhart - Sin and redemption, Meister Eckhart - Place of Christ, Meister Eckhart - Ethics, Meister Eckhart - Psychology, Meister Eckhart - Eckhart today, Meister Eckhart - Bibliography, Meister Eckhart - Sources, Meister Eckhart - Translations and commentaries, Meister Eckhart - Supplementary

Read more here: » Meister Eckhart: Encyclopedia II - Meister Eckhart - Overview

Kabbalah eventually gained an audience outside of the Jewish community. Nominal-Christian versions of Kabbalah began to develop; by the early 18th century some kabbalah came to be used by some hermetic philosophers, neo-pagans and other new religious groups. Kabbalah - Hermetic Kabbalah. The Western Esoteric (or Hermetic) Tradition, a precursor to both the neo-Pagan and New Age movements, is intertwined with aspects of Kabbalah. Within the Hermetic tradition, much of Kabbalah has been changed from its Jewish roots through syncretism, b ...

See also:

Kabbalah, Kabbalah - Origin of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah - Mystic doctrines in Talmudic times, Kabbalah - Kabbalah of the early Middle Ages, Kabbalah - Lurianic Kabbalah in the Middle Ages, Kabbalah - Kabbalah of the Sefardim and Mizrahim, Kabbalah - Kabbalah of the Maharal, Kabbalah - The failure of Sabbatian mysticism, Kabbalah - Spread of Kabbalah during the 1700s, Kabbalah - The modern world, Kabbalah - Primary texts, Kabbalah - Theodicy: explanation for the existence of evil, Kabbalah - Kabbalistic understanding of God, Kabbalah - Sefirot, Kabbalah - A Greek Orthodox theological view, Kabbalah - The human soul in Kabbalah, Kabbalah - Foretelling the future, Kabbalah - Practical applications, Kabbalah - Textual antiquity of esoteric mysticism, Kabbalah - Gnosticism and Kabbalah, Kabbalah - Criticisms, Kabbalah - Dualism, Kabbalah - Debate about Kabbalah in Judaism, Kabbalah - Early critiques, Kabbalah - Within Conservative and Reform Judaism, Kabbalah - Kabbalah Centre, Kabbalah - Kabbalah in non-Jewish society, Kabbalah - Hermetic Kabbalah, Kabbalah - Fictional representations, Kabbalah - Kabbalah personalities, Kabbalah - Footnotes

Read more here: » Kabbalah: Encyclopedia II - Kabbalah - Kabbalah in non-Jewish society

monism: "Doctrine of oneness."

1)    The philosophical view that there is only one ultimate substance or principle.

2)    The view that reality is a unified whole without independent parts.

See: dvaita-advaita, pluralism, monotheism, polytheism

(See also: Monism, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)