The Weight of the Soul

Ahhh, the philosophical debate about the soul.  I personally think it’s the most important debate human kind can muster.  Do you have a soul?

I believe I do, for sure.  I am moved by music, moved by scenery, I can be moved to tears easily, as well as inspired enough to move someone else with my own creations.  I believe we can truly channel our soul into our creations, and pulse them with energy, enough to almost make it alive.

There was a quote by an ‘Angel’ in Neon Genesis Evangelion, an old anime which has a very deep plot.  It said that Beethoven's 9th Symphony was the greatest creation that had ever come out of humanity.  Sure, we’ve all heard snippets, and its been run into the ground, but listen to it in a dark room, from the beginning, and feel the music pulse through you.  It takes you through the entirety of human existence, the entire range, in just one piece of music.

The next obvious question in the debate, is “Do other people have souls?”  That’s the tricky part.  I swear I’ve met individuals who have no soul.  I’ve known cats and dogs with more of a soul with some people.  These people, these zombies, shuffle through life, never enjoying life.  It is truly a sad existence.  They seem to only react to stimuli, and never make decisions that truly better themselves.  Adam Duritz from Counting Crows said it best, “If you’ve never looked off into the distance, well then your life is a shame.”

But in the end, where does the debate lead us?  The “I think, therefore I am,” argument only goes so far with me.  To me it should be better defined as, “I feel something beyond this mortal realm, therefor I am.”  To me, that’s what having a ‘soul’ is all about.

Because, what is a soul?  I wish that Duncan MacDougall’s experiments would have been reproduced, the idea that the soul had weight should be the most paramount thing to research, period.  Beyond that, the soul can only be described in existential ways.

Anyway you look at it, the soul is a great subject of debate and a great concept in and of itself.  I personally believe the soul is the one thing, the ONLY thing that is deserving of ‘faith,’ besides ‘love.’  What do you think on the subject matter?  I know the comment window is small for this kind of debate, but I would love to read your comments on the matter of the soul.

–Dan