Do animals have a soul?

[Loki]

A lot of religions plead that animal can be your next incarnation.

[SherlawkDragon]

A lot of religions plead that animal can be your next incarnation.

And alot of Therians think it's the reason why they are therians.  I'm not sure if I believe if reincarnation is even a fact, let alone a cause for therianthropy.

Hah... that reminds me of an idea... there's a preview out for a movie or something where a dog can communicate through his collar...

Is it "The Magnificent Wilf"?  I was a big fan of Gordon R. penisson back when I was younger (mainly his Dragon Knight series, it's obvious why)

Of course, one might argue that the concept of a soul is simply the by-product of self-awareness, in which case animals wouldn't have a soul.

...and neither would most humans...

Not necessarily. ALL humans (barring those in a vegetative state) are sentient, regardless of their intellectual capacity.

Who says that animals aren't "self aware"?  They're there, they have brains, they do stuff, they make decisions, they seem aware to me...

[SherlawkDragon]

See what I mean?

I think so, you're basically saying that all creatures have "Spirits", but only human "Spirits" can be classified as a "Soul" because of the different scale on which humans think.  Humans have a very concrete grasp of "this happened earlier, so if I do this now, this will happen later" type thinking, humans can dynamically comprehend concepts of physics, math, and philosophy, and that's what makes their Spirit different.  I guess I would agree with that.  I believe that all creatures have an energy, and when they die, that energy is released.  I guess a humans energy would be different from a cat's energy, just as a cat's energy is different from a beetle's energy.

[oldbill4823]

For me the issue is a simple one.
I say that animals have souls because i have at times seen them.
Same goes for trees and plants.

[Loki]

This is also my belief - there is not much difference between man and animals (except that animals are not evil and suicidal).

[sarimau]

uhm?

if we will have to go under a reincarnation,

do you still believe in the afterlife?

my teacher said that, in catholic sense, this life that we are now having is the purgatory, how about your other beliefs, what can you say about it?

This is also my belief - there is not much difference between man and animals (except that animals are not evil and suicidal).

and of course, for having a more complex thinking than the animals, we are the one who always hurt and die first when we are thinking such misery..

how about being superior to animals, is there any relation to this topic?

tnx..^_^

[WOLFSONG]

See what I mean?

I think so, you're basically saying that all creatures have "Spirits", but only human "Spirits" can be classified as a "Soul" because of the different scale on which humans think.  Humans have a very concrete grasp of "this happened earlier, so if I do this now, this will happen later" type thinking, humans can dynamically comprehend concepts of physics, math, and philosophy, and that's what makes their Spirit different.  I guess I would agree with that.  I believe that all creatures have an energy, and when they die, that energy is released.  I guess a humans energy would be different from a cat's energy, just as a cat's energy is different from a beetle's energy.

I know this thread is probably old.

Does a dog not say 'hey  I pottied there last time and got swatted if I potty out here...?'

I personally dont believe that we 'humans' have any right to call ourselves so high class and high scale. I think that animals have a soul  they are actually a lot smarter that us, (with the exception of a goldfish... memory span 3 sec tops). After all you dont see them destroying their own breathable air with pollutants.

What is the point of comprehending physics and math if its only benefiting one race. Seems kind of selfish.

[Loki]

The Christian Church considers that animals have no souls which led to a lack of consideration for them, whereas in other countries like India, animals are treated with more respect ...  Moreover, we have exterminated almost all the other large natural predators which unbalance the whole ecosystem of the planet.

LK

[rave phillaphia]

In western religions they do not believe that animals have a soul (well traditionally they don't); when it comes to eastern traditions its gets complicated depending on what foundation you are but yes some believe that animals have souls.

personally i believe that no one has a true soul that when we die our bodies go into the ground and decay into materials and elements used for other things ranging from organisms to nutrients used by the organisms etc... Our pieces are spread about and transformed so we don't have a true soul. But what do I know I am a religious studies major that doesn't really believe that religions are correct. I believe all religions are wrong so that everyone is therefore correct. My philosophy whatever you believe is what will happen to you. But that is my thoughts and I do not want to impose it on others.

[Hobson]

Werewolf here, 'nuff said.

[Countess]

This topic actually came up at work this week. I am a veterinary nurse & a wiccan my boss is a devout christian a revelationist & while spaying a puppy the animal died, was clinically dead for over 2 minutes. We actually brought her back to life & my boss mentioned that he could see the light return to her eyes which to him is a sign of the soul. This along with a number of personal & professional experiences leave me able to say, with out a shadow of a doubt that animals do have a soul. Of course, this is simply my belief. As my boss & I have discussed many times, the "soul" is something that is subject to a wide variety of definitions. So for me, a soul is the inherant "good" inside a living creature. It can be fed or destroyed through the person's actions in life. In my mind, following that belief animals actually have the purest souls. But again, it's just what I believe.

[SherlawkDragon]

Oh, welcome back Rave.

In western religions they do not believe that animals have a soul (well traditionally they don't); when it comes to eastern traditions its gets complicated depending on what foundation you are but yes some believe that animals have souls.

Actually, I know no one actually follows it or the Bible itself as a religion, but the Torah DOES say that animals have souls, only it says something along the lines of "while we know our souls move onto what Yaweh ordained, we don't know where the souls or animals go".

Werewolf here, 'nuff said.

No, not "nuff said".  What makes you say that?

[rave phillaphia]

It actually doesn't say that in the Torah but that is a famous hebrew saying. The Torah has a lot of animal rights and laws for the animals though. A sad major difference is that the Jewish people may have believed that animals have a soul but christians don't because of 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

My arguement is that if the animals lived in the garden of eden that meant that they had to of had a soul. In the Hebrew bible there are many rules for animal rights and how to treat them. It says to not mistreat your animals or others animals. It wasn't until the greco-roman times when we start to loose the idea of animals having a soul. The arguement is always played that in the beginning God gave the earth to man. But it was taken back when he sinned. The covanat was broken between God and man before he became Adam. Therefore God gave the official Torah to humans to follow by. We have the misconception that we still own the earth but it rebells against us. It wouldn't if we didn't sin. So because of the animals in genesis i believe that animals have a soul. Its just people misread what it says.

[SherlawkDragon]

The arguement is always played that in the beginning God gave the earth to man.

From what I understand, the original connotation of the Hebrew text is something like "stewardship".  In any case, it doesn't really matter to me, I don't believe in the bible.
The other day, I was thinking about something: there are people who will say that humans are completely driven by their own will and nothing is preprogrammed and there are people who will say that people are simply complex machines who do things mechanically. (now, I know it's a spectrum, but for the sake of argument, let's leave it monochromatic)  Now, if you believe the second one, then it's easy to say that animals simply are not sentient and thus have no need for a soul, and you could probably go on to say the same for humans.  However, on the other end, you have to look at the complex behavior of animals and see that they do act on emotions and such, thus making a reasonable case for calling them "sentient".  Now: if a spirit is the energy of sentience, wouldn't that mean that a sentient animal has a soul?
I know that was rambly, but you guys can figure it out.

[Muerte]

Are there not stories/accounts of people seeing animal spirits/entities?  If we see people as spirits, and there are accounts of animal spirits, what does that tell you?