soul summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see soul.

soul, Immaterial aspect or essence of a person, conjoined with the body during life and separable at death. The concept of a soul is found in nearly all cultures and religions, though the interpretations of its nature vary considerably. The ancient Egyptians conceived of a dual soul, one surviving death but remaining near the body, while the other proceeded to the realm of the dead. The early Hebrews did not consider the soul as distinct from the body, but later Jewish writers perceived the two as separate. Christian theology adopted the Greek concept of an immortal soul, adding the notion that God created the soul and infused it into the body at conception. In Islam the soul is believed to come into existence at the same time as the body but is everlasting and subject to eternal bliss or torment after the death of the body. In Hinduism each soul, or atman, was created at the beginning of time and imprisoned in an earthly body; at death the soul is said to pass to a new body according to the laws of karma. Buddhism negates the idea of a soul, asserting that any sense of an individual self is illusory.

Marsilio Ficino Summary

Marsilio Ficino was an Italian philosopher, theologian, and linguist whose translations and commentaries on the writings of Plato and other classical Greek authors generated the Florentine Platonist Renaissance that influenced European thought for two centuries. Ficino was the son of a physician

Moses Mendelssohn Summary

Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher, critic, and Bible translator and commentator who greatly contributed to the efforts of Jews to assimilate to the German bourgeoisie. The son of an impoverished scribe called Menachem Mendel Dessau, he was known in Jewry as Moses Dessau but wrote as

Plato Summary

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 bce), and founder of the Academy. He is best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence and is one of the major figures of Classical antiquity. Building on the

Aristotle Summary

Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Classical antiquity and Western history. He was the author of a philosophical and scientific system that became the framework and vehicle for both Christian Scholasticism and medieval Islamic