Soul Theory of Personal Identity

Soul Theory of Personal Identity

I've always ascribed to the soul theory of personal identity. This theory essentially stipulates that as we move through time we do so consistently as long as we continue to have the same soul. In structure this theory, some might argue, is comparable to the body theory. The underlying principles are the same. The soul theory states that as one has the same soul, one is essentially the same person. Some argue that this is the comparable to the self as psychic continuity and the memory theory. The memory theory argues that we continue on through time as we have memories of our past lives, some of which can overlap. Essentially, one can argue that as the human soul, which does not change, travels through time, and the self has all of these different lives and experiences, the soul does remember the lessons learned life after life. The soul is able to make and to collect memories.

The soul theory asserts that the soul can survive the death of the body: that there is something metaphysical and important which can transcend the biophysical world. For example, the "Soul Theory, which obviously moves away from physicalistic theories of identity such as animalism, takes us in the direction of the non-physical (at least at first glance). But this is, perhaps, what makes the suggestion at least on the face of it problematic. Clearly, to know when X is the same person as Y, we would need to know when X has the "same soul" as Y? Of course, knowing when one soul is the same as another soul requires a previous bit of knowledge -- knowing what souls are in the first place. How can we know what a soul is, much less know when one soul is the same as another soul?'(druy.edu). According to this theory, the foundation for one's memories and desires is the human soul -- which is the basis for one's entire personality. Thus, even superficially, if there are changes made to the human being, the basic values which underscore the human being remain unchanged: according to this theory it keeps the same person over time.

In some religions this is how they explain child prodigies. If a child is born with unexplained, genius-like musical abilities, then this is often explained by the soul theory and reincarnation. Certain religions like Buddhism believe that the soul has reincarnated in time and gained this musical ability in another life, and this is how they explain certain child prodigies. Thus, certain intuitions exist behind the soul theory, and they are not all founded in religious ideology. A good example of this is that even when a person suffers from amnesia, we still view them as the same person as before. "They may act differently, we say, but it is still the same person. Since none of the memories, desires, or personality of the old person remains, it seems as if the pincushion or soul is what is providing the criterion of identity" (druy.edu). Thus, the human soul (or the "pin cushion") in this example, is viewed as what makes the person particular and special. The soul is the sponge which absorbs the life experiences throughout the ages, whether or not the individual person can remember those experiences or not. In fact, one could argue that it is inconsequential if the person can recall those memories or not: the soul is what lives on forever. The soul can be a source of life, thought and feeling and some might argue where the intuition of the individual lives. To return to the example of amnesia, a person might have amnesia, and forget all the current and recent experiences of this earthly life, but still be able maintain the core pillars of their own identity.