Body, Soul and Spirit
Three-fold creation, Physical Laws, Biological Code, Mind and Spirit. A computer, or brain, has no intelligence, reason, emotion or will, no identity or consciousness, no sense of duty or morality or humor, no appreciation of music nor metaphor, nor abstraction, value, purpose, meaning, significance, etc.
Zech. 12:1 the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man
Num. 16:22 O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh,
Num. 27:16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh,
Job 12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Eccl. 3:11 also he hath set the world in their heart,
Isa. 57:16 for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
Jer. 38:16 As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul,
Heb. 12:9 shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
1 Cor. 12:2-3 whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;
2 Cor. 5:8 willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Modern unbelief pretends there is nothing but matter, no spiritual entity. Pretends reason, mind and will are effects of the physical brain only. Intent on proving this theory by the science of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This concept denies the “free will” of man, that a man makes choices, especially moral choices, and is accountable for them. This is an exceedingly difficult position to convince ordinary people of, because our universal experience is that we do make choices, and that we are accountable. Throughout history rational men have understood the existence of the soul, as a free will, with a moral accountability.
Today, experts speak of the “emergence of mind” from the brain. It is a great mystery to them, and affects their research into Artificial Intelligence. But belief in an inner man is nearly universal. Modern unbelievers attribute this to the eyes. They claim that the fact that we “see through windows” gives us the impression that there is a person within the body, which they deny as unproven. But there are other indications that mind is more than brain. During brain surgery the patient can be awake, and can distinguish between what bodily effects are the surgeon’s doing, and what are his own doing.
Jehovah’s Witnesses deny an internal intangible soul/spirit. They believe that the soul is just the body, and the spirit is just the impersonal life-force, like electricity that makes things work.
Studying this subject in the Bible initially can be confusing and the temptation is to ignore the specifics and assume it is undefinable, vague and imprecise. But with a few controls the details fall into place.
1. Man a complex being
Mat. 10:28 fear not them which kill body, but not able to kill soul: rather fear him able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Luke 12:20 Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee:
1 Thes. 5:23 and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Differences between persons and animals
A. The image of God is not robustly defined, but it clearly means persons are like God in some way that animals are not. If speaking of the triune nature of God (and it is certainly more than this) it is relevant to our study of a triune nature of man.
Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
B. God breathed into Adam. The animals had the breath of life also (Gen. 6:17, 7:15,22), but God personally breathed it into Adam. This may indicate some difference between persons and animals (or it may not).
Gen. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
1 Cor. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
C. Mankind became as God in knowledge of good and evil after creation, and before God was ready to grant it. This indicates another difference.
Gen. 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
2. The inner person or soul
Bodily metaphors
“Brain” is not mentioned in the Bible
Deut. 4:29 thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deut. 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Mat. 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mar. 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:
Luke 10:27 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Psalm 31:9 mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
Prov 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Lam. 2:11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth,
Eze. 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you;
Phm. 1:20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
Heart is the most common metaphor for the soul, or inner person, including reason, emotion and will. Usually synonymous with soul and/or spirit.
Gen. 6:5 And GOD saw that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen. 8:21 I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;
Gen. 17:17 Then Abraham laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old?
Gen. 20:5 even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
Gen. 45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
Exo. 35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing.
Lev. 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart:
Deut. 4:39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above,
Deut. 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always
Eze. 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you;
Eze. 18:31 and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Eze. 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
Mind
Mind is thought, memory, will, desire, emotion, synonymous with heart and soul
Num. 16:28 that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Deut. 18:6 And if a Levite come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose;
Deut. 28:65 the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
1 Chr. 28:9 know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts:
Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Isa. 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Lam. 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Dan. 2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter:
Luke 8:35 and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind:
Acts 20:19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind,
3. Synonyms,
False synonyms, Soul and Body sometimes appear synonymous
These are not truly synonyms. In these “soul” is speaking of an individual person, not identifying the soul as the body.
Gen. 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Gen. 19:20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, and my soul shall live.
Lev. 5:2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
Lev. 7:27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Josh. 11:11 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword,
Psalm 7:2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
Eze. 18:4,20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
1 Pet. 3:20 while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Rev. 16:3 vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
True Synonyms, Soul and Spirit are sometimes synonymous
Some Christians deny the threefold nature, insisting Spirit and Soul are synonyms only, and do not constitute separate entities. Spirit and soul are indeed synonymous when in common speech one is speaking of the consciousness, or inner man. This does not imply that there is no difference when considered in detail, or spoken of distinctly (see #4).
Isa. 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early:
Inner person
Isa. 31:3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.
Rom. 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
Life of the Body is both soul and spirit
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Job 34:14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Psalm 104:29 thou takest away their breath [spirit], they die, and return to their dust.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
1 Cor. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
2 Cor. 3:6 for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Both soul and spirit leave when body dies
Gen. 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni:
1Kings 17:21 and cried unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Both are spoken of as the seat of emotions:
Sorrow
Mat. 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death:
1Kings 21:5 But Jezebel his wife said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
Prov. 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Joy
Prov. 13:19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Love
Song 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth:
2 Tim. 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Hate
Lev. 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and my soul shall abhor you.
Fear
Lev. 26:16 I will even appoint over you terror, and the burning ague, that shall cause sorrow of heart:
Anger
Prov. 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Prov. 14:10 The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
Eccl. 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
4. Semantics, words are flexible
Spirit sometimes means the attitude, not the person
Occasionally the word “spirit” is not talking about an internal component of our identity, but about an attitude of mind, encouragement or discouragement, impulsiveness or firmness. These cases should not be used to attempt to define the identity of the spirit, nor to adjust the definition as described elsewhere in the Bible. It is simply a different concept.
Judges 15:19 and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived:
2 Chr. 9:4 and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
Psalm 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.
2 Cor. 7:13 more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
This attitude can be controlled by the will (or soul)
Prov. 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Prov. 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Soul/life
Sometimes the words soul and life are interchangeable
Gen. 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life,
Gen. 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
Lev. 17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof:
Deu. 12:23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life;
Mat. 16:25 For whosoever will save his life 5590 shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life 5590 for my sake shall find it.
Mat. 16:26 … if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul 5590? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul 5590?
Acts 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
5. Distinctions
Categorical difference between Body and Spirit, these do not overlap
This is the key to distinguishing spirit, soul and body. What the body connects to in the soul, such as the emotions, is not spirit. What the spirit connects to in the soul, such as knowledge and faith, is not carnal, or corporal.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
Rom. 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:
Gal. 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:
Subtle difference between spirit and soul
The difference between spirit and soul is declared to exist, but not easy to define. It is subtle and confusing, hence requiring special power to distinguish, such as the word of God has.
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
1 Cor. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
6. Seat
Some things are associated with the soul, so the soul is the seat of:
Memory
Deu. 4:9 keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:
Psalm 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
Lam. 3:20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
Conscience
Dan. 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne,
Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto defiled is nothing pure; even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Desire
1 Sam. 23:20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down;
1 Kings 11:37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
Faith
Psalm 33:20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee:
Will
Rom. 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
Acts 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
1 Cor. 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
7. Source
Some things are spoken of as coming from the spirit, so the spirit is a source of:
Knowledge and understanding
Job 32:8 [Elihu] But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
1 Cor. 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Spirit knows what the soul does not understand. Therefore the spirit is the source of knowledge and understanding, but not the “seat” or where it resides.
1 Cor. 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Wisdom
Eph. 1:17 That the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Exo. 31:3 filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge,
Deu. 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him:
Isa. 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Faith
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
2 Cor. 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
Will
Ex 35:21 every one whose heart stirred him up [emotion], and every one whom his spirit made willing, [source]
Job 32:18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. [source]
1 Chr. 5:26 God stirred up the spirit of Pul, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser kings of Assyria, and carried them away,
Ezra 1:5 Then rose up the fathers, and the priests and Levites, with all whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build
Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Acts 17:16 while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
1 Cor. 4:21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Character or personality
2 Kings 2:9 And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
Prov. 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Eccl. 7:8 the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Eze. 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
Dan. 6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him;
Num. 11:17 I will come down and talk with thee there: I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them;
Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children
Luke 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Rom. 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
2 Tim. 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
8. Connections between Body, Soul and Spirit
Rom. 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
Rom. 7:25 So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God [spirit]; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Rom. 8:5 they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom. 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom. 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
Eph. 2:3 in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind;
Col. 2:18 intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
1 Cor. 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Cor. 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Cor. 7:34 The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit:
Philip. 1:27 that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Heb. 8:10 saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:
Eze. 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you;
Eze. 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes
Jer. 31:33 I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts
9. Placement, Soul inside the body, spirit inside the soul:
Gen 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni:
Eccl. 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Eccl. 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
Luke 23:46 Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Eph. 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
10. Summary
1. The body is visible, palpable and mortal
Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Hebrews 2:14 as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise took part of the same; that through death
2. The soul is internal, intangible, immortal, and distinct from the body.
2 Cor. 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Revelation 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God,
3. The spirit is invisible and supernatural, and distinct from the soul.
1 Cor. 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
4. The spirit is not connected to the body. They are categorically and entirely separate. They do not overlap.
Isaiah 31:3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.
Luke 24:39 for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
5. The soul is directly connected to the body through the brain.
Ephesians 2:3 we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind;
Col. 2:18 intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
6. The soul is directly connected to the spirit through the mind/reason.
Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
Eph. 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
2Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of a sound mind.
7. The soul, connected to both body and spirit, must choose between them.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me;
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
Romans 8:1 There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Gal. 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:
Appendix / Notes
Existence of Rational Senses
Physical senses
Physical senses are the sensory systems of an organism which acquire and process information from its environment. All life forms function by interacting with the environment. Interaction requires information about the environment, to discover nutrients, to manipulate habitat, to recognize changes. Senses are what provide that feedback. Sensory systems involve both physical and neurological events, and most senses involve some interpretive activity of the mind, requiring practice to perfect the function.
The ancient Greeks, at least since Aristotle, counted five senses: Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and Smell. This is an over-simplified generalization however. Most of the traditional five senses involve complex interactions with multiple inputs. A more accurate and comprehensive view of physical senses divides them into at least two categories, exteroceptive, or external perception, and interoceptive, or internal perception. The traditional five senses would be considered exteroception.
Hearing is fairly straightforward compared to the other external senses, acquiring information from the vibrations in the atmosphere. Multiple audio inputs (two ears) interpreted by the mind allow for directional hearing.
Sight on the other hand is technically two senses, requiring two different types of neurological receptors to perceive both color (frequency) and brightness (intensity) of light. Only when combined do they form our sense of vision. Multiple inputs coordinated with focus feedback and interpreted mentally provide highly accurate depth perception.
Touch is a very generalized way of expressing our skin’s ability to sense pressure, pain and temperature. But, speaking precisely, these are different senses located in different receptors. Technically touch is “tactition” only, the sense of pressure on the skin (mechanoreception), with similar receptors distinguishing different types of pressure (direct or passing). Tactition is amplified by having mechanoreceptors within the hair follicles.
Distinct neuroreceptors code for the sense of itching. Pain is not from mechanoreceptors at all, but from nociceptors, and involves at least three distinct types, only one of which works in the skin (cutaneous), and the others noting pain in joints and bones (somatic) and internal organs (visceral).
The sense of temperature involves thermoceptors, but these are not only found in the skin (exteroception), but also in internal passageways (interoception) such as the throat, nasal and rectal passages. A distinct thermoceptor in the brain (thalamus) registers and enables regulation of internal body temperature.
Taste and Smell actually belong to a single category of exteroception called chemoreception, and could be generalized together as “Flavor.” There are at least five distinct chemoreceptors found on the tongue coding specifically for sweet, sour, bitter, salt and glutamate (a taste found in meat). Hundreds of distinct chemoreceptors found in the nasal passages each signal the presence of only one specific molecule, and only by combinations of these distinct signals interpreted by the mind do we perceive flavors.
Our sense of balance, signaled by vestibular receptors within the inner ears, is called equilibrioception. This is technically exteroception as well, because it senses gravity, momentum and acceleration, which are external to the body.
Interoception categorizes sensory systems which provide internal feedback. There are specific and distinct neuroreceptors in the throat that enable the process of swallowing, which is a complex interaction of muscles and passages requiring coordinated movement. There are also tactile receptors in the throat similar to those found in skin that recognize foreign objects and stimulate the gag reflex. There are receptors in the bladder and rectum that signal fullness levels. Blood vessels have receptors that register dilation, which when stimulated in the brain are the source of head-aches. Several internal organs have stretch receptors, those in the lungs being an obvious example, which enable the brain to control automatic respiration.
There is also an inner sense of time which although vague and susceptible to confusion, allows a body to function in cycles, such as the daylight cycle, and the lunar and seasonal cycles. This sense also enables us to calculate short periods (seconds and minutes) to a surprising degree of accuracy even without external indicators.
Proprioception is a complex feedback system in the body informing the brain of the relative position, movement and tension of the limbs. Proprioceptors are found in the joints, tendons and muscles. By integrating this feedback with information from the vestibular receptors (balance) the brain can determine the body’s position and orientation without using other sensory indicators. As a genuine sensory system it can be demonstrated by the fact that at any time, in any position and orientation, a person can scratch where it itches without significant trial and error.
Reflexes are physical reactions stimulated by the neurological system before communication to the brain. Consequently these stimuli cause near immediate reactions. Tendon reflexes and pupillary light reflexes seem simple enough and are easily recognized, but others enable complex reactions, such as the gag reflex, and the accommodation reflex, which coordinates the focus of the eyes.
Instincts are innate and unlearned behaviors having their source in the brain, and include some that can be confused with reflexes, such as breathing, suckling, squinting, shivering, blushing and even goose-bumps. Other instincts are more elaborate behaviors known as fixed action patterns. Spiders instinctively build a species-specific web. Birds sing instinctively, usually a distinctive song, but in some birds the song they sing may depend upon the songs they hear. Instincts can be understood as biological predispositions (not completely irresistible) programmed into the brain. Instincts in humans are visible from birth, ranging from inherent fears, to complex abilities such as grasping and carrying an object to the mouth, and to social drives such as communication and reproduction.
None of the senses, reflexes or instincts function apart from the mind. The brain is a complex command center for all the neurological functions of the body, but the mind is more than the brain (see below).
Rational Senses
Rational senses are intuitions (found completely in the mind), which identify or assign independent values to physically insignificant attributes. Although values vary among individuals, and may change over time, these are not entirely subjective, since intuition is universal in humans, and even when the sense changes, it never ceases to exist. Our minds automatically choose, prefer, judge and discriminate, and even among millions of individuals from widely variant backgrounds, there is surprising agreement of preference. Any human, even in infancy, will respond to a symphony positively, and to screeching tires negatively. Reactions of this nature are clearly not due to neurological reflexes, and differ in several significant ways from instincts. The rational senses include:
Esthetics: the intuition of beauty (harmony, balance, absence of defects)
delight (joy, pleasure, sport, fulfillment)
Empathy: the intuition of identity (self, society, love, hate)
Ethics: the intuition of duty (virtue, morality, fairness, gratitude, shame)
Justice: the intuition of merit (rights, vengeance, debt, guilt)
Humor: the intuition of irony? (awareness, understanding, relief)
Esthetics:
Rhodes, G. (2006). The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 199-226.
Visible beauty, variety (such as color), balance, harmony, averageness,
Audible beauty (appreciation of music)
Tactile beauty (feels good)
Palatile beauty (tastes good)
Olfatile beauty (smells good)
What makes a woman beautiful. High cheekbones? Curves? What makes a freshly fallen snow breathtaking? What makes a rainbow fascinating? How does a sunrise cause us to pause. In fact, nothing. Nothing is necessarily special about any of these. One face is not inherently more inspiring than another. But all humans are impressed with a sense of beauty. It is not a physical sense, but a rational sense, an ability within our minds to appreciate value in appearance.
If something is good, why is it good? What makes it good? Is there some objective quality that makes something good? If it smells good, why does it smell good? No doubt “good” is a subjective characteristic assigned by our mind. We have the physical sense of smell, we have the instinctual sense to recognize a good smell, but we have the rational sense of pleasure in the smelling of it.
Good is “purpose”, or that which tends to fulfill it.
Ethics
Neitsche believed that god in principle was practically dead as a human philosophy, and despaired that the new emerging humanity would be nihilistic, self-destructive and without any rational foundation for morality or ethos. He was right, not about God of course, but about emerging humanity, as seen in the wars and revolutions that followed. And about the reason. Indeed, morality has no rational foundation, given the absence of a transcendent God. But we can no more grant the absence of God than we can the absence of right and wrong.
This is not to say the divine foundation for morality cannot be clearly understood without divine revelation, or the Bible. Morality exists, just as light and sound exist. The latter exist physically, but as information they cannot exist independent of our minds. Light in the common sense of the word is electromagnetic radiation, specifically limited to wavelengths within a relatively narrow range, that which is detectable by animal eyes. Light is a minute fraction of the EM spectrum, and provides no sensory information without the brain to process it, and the mind to interpret it. In other words, light is actually defined by sight. Obviously, without eyes calibrated to see it, light would be invisible, and therefore would not be light. The physical phenomenon of radiation would still exist, including the specific range of frequencies we know as light, but it wouldn’t be light. It would just be more radiation, and like all other radiation, it would be sensually insignificant.
A blind man’s eyes prove the existence of light. Not that blind people tend to be skeptical about what others tell them about it, but total blindness must certainly leave a man uncertain about light, and most certainly disadvantaged in its understanding. Yet that light exists must necessarily be proven to the blindest by the fact that he has eyes, even though the deduction is complicated by dysfunction. No matter how blind, one is not completely in the dark. Dysfunctional eyes are useless as senses, but not as evidence. Their utter uselessness is in fact useful information. Uselessness itself doesn’t inform, but the mere possibility of dysfunction once proposed and considered would be enough to eliminate doubt as to the nature of the case. Useless organs make no sense, not even in an evolutionary interpretation.
So morality exists because it is found universally within the mind. Even when dysfunctional the foundation is there. There is no obvious source for its existence, except the source of all other senses. Just as there are physical receptors for natural senses, there are mind receptors for rational senses.
The Mind
“Nature, by an absolute and uncontroulable necessity has determin'd us to judge as well as to breathe and feel”. David Hume, A Treatise On Human Nature (Oxford : 1978).
Morals excite passions, and produce or prevent actions. Reason itself is utterly impotent in this particular. The rules of morality, therefore, are not conclusions of our reason. David Hume
Oxford Professor John D. Kenyon: “Reason might manage to raise a doubt about the truth of a conclusion of natural inductive inference just for a moment in the study, but the forces of nature will soon overcome that artificial skepticism, and the sheer agreeableness of animal faith will protect us from excessive caution and sterile suspension of belief.” [^ Doubts about the Concept of Reason, op.cit., p.254.]
Emergentism, theory of the mind… as water’s properties cannot be determined by studying hydrogen and oxygen separately, but water “emerges” from them as a separate, distinct entity, so the mind emerges from the body (the brain and senses), but becomes its own entity. The wonder is how the mind then controls the body.
Mary’s room… existence of qualia… the color red
John Locke, inverted spectrum argument… if conceivable, then possible… qualia not related to brain-states…
The mind is what turns a color into a qualia. The eye distinguishes colors, but the mind interprets the color, and remembers the color, and can imagine the color when not visible.
Artificial intelligence
All intelligence is artificial. It can only come from intelligence. There is no mechanism by which a machine can develop will, reason or appreciation of ethics, beauty or humor. Mathematical computation is not intelligence, but simply a tool of intelligence.
Intelligence must be qualified by the ability to come to a rational conclusion. One may be rationally uncertain, but consistent uncertainty is not a quality by which intelligence can be demonstrated. Correct conclusions based on evidence, reason and common sense are the true indicators of intelligence. It is no sign of intellectual prowess to reject a common sense application of evidence at hand. Paul speaks of some who “ever learning” are never able to come to a conclusion. One conclusion that is fully supported by all the evidence is the supernatural cause of the laws of nature and functioning biological systems. Every material entity depends upon rules and codes, what we call the laws of nature. The source of law is mind and power.
Similarly, biological systems are not random chemical processes, but highly complex ordered codes, words and languages producing and governing cellular and multicellular life. There is no life without the internal language of life written in every unit of life, the cell. There is no life simpler than a complete cell with its necessary written code. But language requires a source and a target. The source speaks the language, the target understands it. The target cannot be the source. Language cannot produce itself. All intelligent beings come to the conclusion that God created the universe and designed the language of life. By the same reasoning we come to the conclusion that mind/spirit is also created by God.