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A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of ReligionHuman Destiny: Immortality and Resurrection

A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion: Human Destiny: Immortality and Resurrection CHAPTER XIII HUMAN DESTINY: IMMORTALITY AND RESURRECTION The Immortality of the Soul The distinction between a (material) body and (immaterial) soul is a widely prevalent feature of religious thought the world over, although this distinction finds its first philosophically clear articulation, in the West, in the thought of Plato (428/7-348/7 B.C.). Various suggestions have been offered to explain the origin of this distinction. These include the experience of dream; of seeing one’s reflection; memories of the dead or an imaginative response in the face of death. These explanations have been considered overly rationalistic by some scholars. Primal thought in this respect is far more complex, especially when the point is taken into account that in “a Christian context the human soul is thought about and overvalued in relation to the body.” A more comprehensive account of the concept of the soul in primal religions would read as follows: The essence of the soul is power, to the extent that power, soul, and life become interchangeable categories. But with regard to traditional societies we can really speak neither of the uniqueness of the soul nor of homogenous and always precise concepts. The linguistic equivalents we use remain very approximate. Since http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of ReligionHuman Destiny: Immortality and Resurrection

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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer 2006
ISBN
978-1-4020-5013-8
Pages
179 –188
DOI
10.1007/1-4020-5014-3_13
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

CHAPTER XIII HUMAN DESTINY: IMMORTALITY AND RESURRECTION The Immortality of the Soul The distinction between a (material) body and (immaterial) soul is a widely prevalent feature of religious thought the world over, although this distinction finds its first philosophically clear articulation, in the West, in the thought of Plato (428/7-348/7 B.C.). Various suggestions have been offered to explain the origin of this distinction. These include the experience of dream; of seeing one’s reflection; memories of the dead or an imaginative response in the face of death. These explanations have been considered overly rationalistic by some scholars. Primal thought in this respect is far more complex, especially when the point is taken into account that in “a Christian context the human soul is thought about and overvalued in relation to the body.” A more comprehensive account of the concept of the soul in primal religions would read as follows: The essence of the soul is power, to the extent that power, soul, and life become interchangeable categories. But with regard to traditional societies we can really speak neither of the uniqueness of the soul nor of homogenous and always precise concepts. The linguistic equivalents we use remain very approximate. Since

Published: Jan 1, 2006

Keywords: Human Soul; Traditional Religion; Religious Thought; Chapter XIII; John Hick

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