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Evolution and the Soul

Tranquil Servant

Was M.I.A for a while
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process do you think we developed a soul?
 
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Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?

Since there are scientists who accept evolution of many different religious faiths, I very much doubt you will find a single answer to this question.

Those who are atheist are unlikely to believe in a soul. Some who are closer to pantheist might believe that souls are present in the universe everywhere. Christians might well have a variety of opinions on when 'ensoulment' first occurred: when our species first separated from other apes, when we started getting religion, when we started doing art, etc.
 

Remté

Active Member
I believe every living thing has a soul and has always had. I also believe in evolution.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?
The evidence supports a different kind of soul than what was once thought by many people. For example we now know that the soul controls from the brain, neither in the bowels nor in the sacrum. That doesn't mean we have no souls or make the word 'Soul' useless. There are still many things we do not know about our minds, but we do know that we have minds which operate from behind our eyes. Knowing this is better than not knowing. We also know that the mind extends control into the rest of the body through our nervous system, which is another thing the ancients do not know. We are still talking about a soul but with more understanding though not complete understanding.
 

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
I believe in both evolution and the soul. Material evolution as we understand it cannot explain higher consciousness/the self/conscious or how it rose. In anthropology it's literally called "the great leap forward". The soul/Self has different properties than nature, acts as an outside observe, can question, manipulate, and go against nature. It arose without genetic change across the species (possibly planet) at once. It so obviously not part of nature when the most simple thought is applied .
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
I believe in both evolution and the soul. For me, scientific evolution and the spiritual soul concept are completely isolated from each other.

In other words:

I don't think science has the language or the means to study and speak about the spiritual soul in a scientific manner.

The converse is also true in my opinion.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?
The Theory of Evolution deals with biology. It deals with how our physical bodies evolve. Spirituality is not addressed in the Theory of Evolution.

However, one can see historically an evolution of how man has experienced and expressed the spiritual historically through the arts, literature, and the views man has evolved culturally. I would argue that spirituality, of which you could include understandings of what the soul is, has always been present by virtue that all life is created by God. It's as my signature says, "Turtles all the way, and all the way down", meaning it is timeless.

At what point did humans begin to recognize that a part of ourselves extends beyond the physical, which is what you can easily understand as a view of the "soul", is the real question. Evidence of burial rites, which shows a belief that the person continues after death, are evidenced back to 300,000 years ago, possibly earlier. What you do see is how these very early understandings of a spiritual reality evolves in the forms and depths it takes, moving from these early archaic expressions, to much later expressions in magic systems, then later expressions in mythic systems, and up into modern rational systems, and continuing on today in other forms. Expressions of these religious forms can be seen today in various religions, and all of these within the same religion due to the fact that people go through stages of development within them.

For instance you have Christians who are very much at the magic stage, believing that pleading the blood of Jesus will bring supernatural results, enacting special powers for them through such incantations. You have those at the mythic stage, which sees God as an external being who takes special notice of the person and sends help from above to favor them. You have those at the rational stages who interpret spiritual matters in terms of rational propositions, such as understanding that symbolism evokes psychological benefits which affect spiritual experience. And so forth.

So in this you see evolution taking place as well. But the spiritual itself, is something innate in all living things. The question from you really is, at what point did we start to recognize it in ourselves. It's not that the soul "evolved" into being. It's always there. It's only a matter of sufficient development for it to begin to be a part of one's own conscious awareness. And that beginning realization goes way back to at least 300,000 years, if not further than that.
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?
We Hindus believe that every animate life from bacteria on has a soul. In fact even inanimate entities have a soul, though its in an inactive state in terms of exhibiting intentionality as a property.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
We Hindus believe that every animate life from bacteria on has a soul. In fact even inanimate entities have a soul, though its in an inactive state in terms of exhibiting intentionality as a property.

In your view ( or as a Hindu ) what about a story, or communication? Does it have a soul? If so, Is it active or inactive? Can it evolve?
 

Ellen Brown

Well-Known Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?


There used to be something around about Generational Sin; that the penalty was passed down to the second and third generation. There is too much scripture, so I will just send you the link. BIBLE VERSES ABOUT GENERATIONAL CURSES
 

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?
My thought is the spirit pervades everything. So my answer would be right from the Big Bang.

Also being human, we have a hard time thinking of life and spirit existing in ways quite different from us.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
.do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?

We Hindus believe that every animate life from bacteria on has a soul. In fact even inanimate entities have a soul,

What I believe is summarized in this chart. The soul evolves through the kingdoms of nature until becoming human. Then reincarnation starts until the spiritual path is entered at which time involution begins and finally culminating with the soul's realization.

4g-13.jpg
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
I believe "soul" to have developed as an idea along with our human ancestors evolving the ability to think using complex abstracts. As we began to ask the tough questions like "where does life come from?", we began imagining the possible answers to that question. "Soul" is one of those. But it describes something for which there is absolutely no empirical evidence.
 
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Audie

Veteran Member
I believe "soul" to have developed as an idea along with our human ancestors evolving the ability to think using complex abstracts. As we began to ask the tough questions like "where does life come from?" we began imagining the possible answers to that question. "Soul" is one of those. But it describes something for which there is absolutely no empirical evidence.

See "opinion" :D
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
I was scrolling through one of my old featured threads Inherited sin: yes or no which lead me to this question....do those who believe in evolution also believe they have a soul and if so, at what point in the evolutionary process did we develop a soul?

I believed there was only one soul and all conscious living things shared that soul. The soul has always existed and was the consciousness of God. Conscious beings, their conscious self comes from the fraction of this single soul.

So the soul existed before the universe, has always existed, will exist after the universe.
 
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