What is the human soul in Orthodoxy and from a scientific point of view?

The human body is studied along and across, and yet there remains an unexplored area, of which one can only speculate and guess. Many centuries people ask themselves: what is the soul? If it can not be seen, does it mean that it does not exist at all?

What is the soul and where is it?

From the submission of religion, the concept is understood as the "something" in a person that infuses into the body at the beginning of life and leaves with the onset of death. What is the human soul in the general sense? This is a human consciousness, thoughts, images and visions, features of character. But the place where the invisible essence is located, different peoples define differently:

  1. In Babylon, her place in her ears was taken away.
  2. Ancient Jews reasoned that the carrier is the blood.
  3. Eskimos believe that the soul is located in the cervical vertebra, as the most vital organ.
  4. But the most common opinion: she lives in parts of the body involved in breathing. This chest, stomach, head.

What is the soul from a scientific point of view?

It is still unknown what the soul consists of, how much it weighs and in what part of the body it is located. However, attempts were repeatedly made to dig down the truth. In 1915, an American doctor, Mac Dugall, measured the weight of a man before and immediately after death. The fluctuations amounted to only 22 grams - this weight was appropriated to the "soul". Similar experiments were conducted by other doctors, but the data were not confirmed. Exactly one thing: at the time of departure to another world and even during sleep, the body of a person becomes easier. Researchers of the near-death state fixed abnormal movements and vague bursts of energy.

What is the soul in psychology?

The term "psychology" can be translated as "the science of the soul." Although the concept is abstract, it has neither form nor evidence, for psychology it plays a crucial role and is the main subject of study. For several centuries theologians and philosophers have tried to answer the question "What is the human soul?". One of the founders of psychology, Aristotle, denied the idea of ​​it as a substance, but saw it in a break from matter. He called the main function of the essence the realization of the biological existence of the organism. Another well-known philosopher, Plato, stands out three soul beginnings:

What is the human soul in Orthodoxy?

Only the church does not raise the question: is there a soul . The Holy Scriptures call it one of the two components of each person on a par with the body. What is the soul in Orthodoxy? This is the basis of life, the incorporeal essence, the immortal unshakable principle created by the Lord. The body can be killed, but the soul - no. It is invisible by nature, but is endowed with reason, and the mind belongs to it.

An unruffled soul - what does this mean?

People go their way in this world, measured from above. Believers believe that such a concept as a soul after death leaves the body and goes on to further travel to another world. But sometimes the essence does not find rest, if the affairs of man on earth are not completed. What does a restless soul mean? It is tied to the place, people, events, can not let go of the body and the world of the living. According to the beliefs, suicides, tragically killed or those whom "relatives" do not let go can not find peace. They seem to hang between the worlds and sometimes are alive in the form of ghosts.

Spirit and soul - what's the difference?

The step from consciousness to reality is the soul, helping to adapt in the world. The human "I" is defined in this world by spirit, personality. From the point of view of philosophy, these concepts are inseparable from each other, and both are in the body, but still differ. And the question remains: what is spirit and soul?

  1. The soul is the immaterial essence of the personality, the engine of life for man. With her, every life journey starts from conception itself. She is subject to an area of ​​feelings and desires.
  2. Spirit is the highest degree of all essence that leads to God. Thanks to the spirit, people stand out from the animal world, they step on a step higher. Spirit is self-knowledge, an area of ​​will and knowledge, and is formed in childhood.

The soul hurts - what to do?

Let us see the inner spiritual world is impossible, but you can feel, especially feel heartache . This happens when a person experiences strong negative emotions, for example, suffers after the death of a close or heavy parting. People did not come to a common opinion what to do if the soul hurts from love or grief. There are no medications to calm suffering (as opposed to physical pain). Only time is the most reliable healer. Supporting relatives will help you cope with the pain. They will help at the right time, give advice, distract from sad thoughts.

Proof that there is a soul

Skeptics do not give an unambiguous answer to the question: what is the soul, because it can not be seen, measured and touched. However, there is evidence that the soul exists, and not one. All of them belong to different areas of life.

  1. Historical and religious evidence is that the idea of ​​a spiritual beginning is embedded in all world religions.
  2. From the point of view of physiology, the soul exists, since it can be weighed. This and tried to make many scientists from around the world.
  3. As bioenergy, the human soul manifests itself and its snapshot is an invisible aura, which is determined by special devices.
  4. Proof of Behterov in the idea of ​​the materiality of thoughts and transforming them into energy. When a person dies, the bearer of thought remains alive.

What does the soul do after death?

There is no consensus on the journey of the spiritual entity after death. All knowledge about this is dictated by the Bible. When the processes of life cease and the brain stops working, the thought leaves the body. But this can not be measured and can only be taken for granted. According to the Bible, the soul after death passes through several stages of purification:

If you believe in ancient writings, the spiritual essence is reborn and finds a new body. But the Bible says that after death a person (that is, a soul) gets to heaven or hell. Proof of this - the testimony of people who survived a clinical death. They all talked about the strange place in which they stayed. For some, it was light and light (heaven), for others - gloomy, terrible, filled with unpleasant images (hell). While the afterlife continues to be one of the main mysteries of mankind.

There are even more interesting stories about the release of the soul from the body - during sleep and not only. Even special practices are used, with the help of which the astral principle can be separated from the physical one and set off on a journey through fragile matter. It is likely that all people without exception are capable of supernatural things, but have not yet studied the science of life and death.