Philosophy

My view of Philosophy

Philosophy is simply the study of the soul, and that's all there is to it.

I make no effort whatsoever to compare my system with other classical philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle; rather, I describe the truths that drive men to philosophize in the first place. The study of the soul energizes many disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, and political science; I lump them all under the umbrella term of "philosophy".

Throughout history philosophers have promoted "scientific" philosophical systems, and psychologists such as Freud have developed the most implausible of theories to describe the soul and its interaction with the spirit realm. I prefer to base my system on a Christian worldview with support from the Bible.

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Philosophy of the Soul

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The Soul . . .

The soul is the immaterial part of every living being, from the simplest of one-celled organisms to humans, and including the non-material beings (the angels).

The soul is beyond reason. Efforts to explain it via psychology, philosophy, political science, sociology, and the other social sciences fall far short because the social sciences are really just the study of the soul in interaction with its environment (via the body) and with other souls — observational science rather than experimental science.

The human soul is the source of religion, culture, society. It provides the sense that we have purpose and is the source of our volition, needs, motivations, motives.

The soul gives meaning and reality to symbols and is the center of creativity. In humans it learns and speaks via language.

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Physical vs. Immaterial . . .

The soul is in some mysterious way connected to the physical body. This is true of all earthly life forms (but not of spirit beings — the angels).

It is the soul which experiences, the soul which lives (in conjunction with the body). The soul animates the body. The human soul is the moral agent accountable to God for the actions it performs (via the body). The human soul ends up with a new body in heaven (the new heavens and new earth) or hell.

We have all experienced the weird circumstance of watching someone unnoticed (or so we think) when they suddenly turn around and look you right in the eye (because they sensed they were being watched). Their body didn't know they were being watched, but their soul knew exactly what was going on — it even knew exactly where you were (they didn't have to look around to find you).

The soul motivates the body into action. If the body is injured and nerves are damaged, the soul will continue to try to move the body (for a while at least). At death the soul gives up all attachment to the body (but a body-sense lingers).

There is interaction between soul and body. The soul animates a body, causes it to live, causes it to move. The soul is attached to the body and receives sensory data. The soul is torn away from the body at death.

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Roots . . .

How I came to develop this view . . .

In studying Catholic philosophy (Aquinas, Aristotle) I had the sense that these descriptions didn't match reality very well. My conclusions . . .

• That the philosophical concepts of form, accidents, etc., are not really true but are merely ways of thinking about reality.
• The whole system was too complex and too arbitrary to be of any practical use.
• Catholic doctrines that relied on these philosophical descriptions seemed wrong (for example, transubstantiation).

In studying Orthodoxy (the Eastern Orthodox Church) I learned that Eastern Orthodox teaching rejects this Catholic philosophical foundation. Thus, it is not an essential component of Christian dogma, teaching, living.

In studying the social sciences I noticed a similar "feel" as that of philosophy . . .

• Not an experimental science but a descriptive art.
• That it was ultimately about soul and spirit which wasn't ruled by natural laws.
• There are many mutually-contradictory theories.
• Some theories seemed to have practical benefit (for example, psychological behaviorism) even though the premise was clearly false (no free will).

St. Thomas Aquinas made assumptions about which sources of truth are trustworthy. Often he "proves" a point by citing Augustine or other writers.

I came to the conclusion that the benefits of the social sciences and of psychology were in providing practical knowledge based on careful observations.

The Social Sciences and philosophy have life and the spirit realm as their focus. Thus, they should be approached as religious studies and should have devotion to God as their goal.

I heard that philosophy was the study of truth and knowledge. It occurred to me that it was the study of the soul, of life.

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