Soul & body, thinking & feeling

 

Imagine travelling three hundred years into the past and trying to convince people that there is no such thing as soul.

They would laugh at you. 'The notion is preposterous! Without a soul I would be dead!' they would scoff 'I am intimately acquainted with my soul. I sense its presence even as we speak'.

Dualisms are as old as western thought and have served a single purpose: to elevate us above the natural world. To provide the foundation for a narrative in which we are 'special' and divine.

This is why you can sniff out supernatural thinking by simply applying a given dualism to the animal kingdom: do dogs have souls? How about rats? Beetles? Not long ago there was even a debate to be had regarding whether women and children could be said to possess souls.

These days the prevailing dualism is reason vs emotion. Rational thought elevates us to godlike status.

Once more the dualism smells fishy: can we separate reason and emotion in the humble rat? Does a rat have have thoughts about cheese that are distinct from its feelings towards cheese?

I regret to inform you: soul is a fairytale, you are a physical thing.

I regret to inform you: thinking is a fairytale, you are a feeling thing.