Do animals have souls?

[Eddi]

Do animals have souls?

I say yes but that they are subject to constant reincarnation

Unlike with humans

Who will all at some point be judged by God and then progress accordingly

That is a belief I hold

I don't believe God will judge any animals because they don't know right from wrong

They have not eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

So are innocent

And in a state of nature

For instance you cannot punish an animal because they cannot understand

 

[Secret Chief]

I do not think that animals have souls, including any of the great apes.

My cat knows right from wrong. He knows it's wrong to steal daddy's chair. (But he sits in it anyway).

 

[metis]

I don't see why they wouldn't.

 

[VoidCat]

Both animals and plants have souls

 

[Eddi]

Both animals and plants have souls

That's interesting

Because I don't think plants do have souls

I'd never considered the possibility until you said that

 

[VoidCat]

That's interesting

Because I don't think plants do have souls

I'd never considered the possibility until you said that

They even communicate with each other(I can link you a source if you like?). They are a lot more intelligent then folks think.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Do animals have souls?

I say yes but that they are subject to constant reincarnation

Unlike with humans

Who will all at some point be judged by God and then progress accordingly

That is a belief I hold

I don't believe God will judge any animals because they don't know right from wrong

They have not eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

So are innocent

And in a state of nature

For instance you cannot punish an animal because they cannot understand

Before I go any further, I want to state unequivocally that I will not debate my personal beliefs and my experiences. I simply wanted to share because I have personal experience with the topic of the OP. I don't know if you're aware or not, but I'm a medium, and I have seen the spirits of animals, including the spirits of my deceased pets in my house, the spirits of dogs and cats roaming around the neighborhood, the spirits of deceased animals in a zoo, and the residual phantom imprints of wild horses galloping through an open field. As a medium, I assume that some animal spirits, if not all of them, are unaware that they are dead and remain in a location that is most familiar to them. To be honest, I'm not sure animals are sentient enough to recognize death. I don't have an answer for that.

 

[Mock Turtle]

If they don't I'd like to know the exact moment when our predecessors obtained their souls - and hence one reason why I don't believe humans have them either. Just seems such an illogical notion to me.

And did the first individual awarded a 'soul' get a medal for this too?

 

[viole]

Do animals have souls?

I say yes but that they are subject to constant reincarnation

Unlike with humans

Who will all at some point be judged by God and then progress accordingly

That is a belief I hold

I don't believe God will judge any animals because they don't know right from wrong

They have not eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

So are innocent

And in a state of nature

For instance you cannot punish an animal because they cannot understand

i would say no. But if I were a Christian that knows biology, then I would say yes.

ciao

- viole

 

[The Hammer]

Do animals have souls?

Animals, plants, and inanimate objects all have a 'Soul', whether we consider them alive or not.

 

[Quintessence]

Depends on what one means by "soul" - a term that has many disparate and nuanced meanings across various cultural/religious traditions. Avoid using the term myself, in part because of its complexity.

In general, though, I've yet to find a quality human animals possess that non-human animals do not also possess, so whatever "soul" means the answer is probably a yes.

 

[Eddi]

inanimate objects

Could you please elaborate?

What would be an example of an inanimate object having a soul?

Surely the word "inanimate" is partially defined by not having things that animals have????

Such as a soul????

 

[Soandso]

Not sure anything has a soul. What's the most compelling scientific theory?

 

[The Hammer]

Could you please elaborate?

What would be an example of an inanimate object having a soul?

Surely the word "inanimate" is partially defined by not having things that animals have????

Such as a soul????

Just because it is inanimate, doesn't mean it isn't alive in its own right.

Any object humans regularly interact with, has a spiritual side. But natural formations too have their own spirits. Mountain, Forest, Cave, or River spirits for instance.

One example of this through interaction are the Japanese "tool spirits", that gain kami through use.

 

[The Hammer]

Not sure anything has a soul. What's the most compelling scientific theory?

Science doesn't deal with the metaphysical.

 

[Father Heathen]

I imagine a soul would be an incorporeal form of the mind, so anything with a mind would have a soul. Seems silly to think only a specific species of primate (human) would have one.

 

[Soandso]

Science doesn't deal with the metaphysical.

That's fair. That approach doesn't really resonate with me, though. I can't feel satasfied with answers that can't be questioned

 

[shunyadragon]

Do animals have souls?

I say yes but that they are subject to constant reincarnation

Unlike with humans

Who will all at some point be judged by God and then progress accordingly

That is a belief I hold

I don't believe God will judge any animals because they don't know right from wrong

They have not eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

So are innocent

And in a state of nature

For instance you cannot punish an animal because they cannot understand

This perpetuates an ancient mythological Genesis view of the nature of being human and our history. To accept the above you would have to accept there was a time that everything was perfect and there was no death and suffering, As well as blame two unfortunate humans as responsible for all the death and suffering of humans and animals..

Humans are animals, and the question that is difficult is do souls exist at all.

Yes, it is unfortunate that animals are punished and yes they are innocent, but not based on ancient religious mythology..

 

[cataway]

yes they are souls

 

[Twilight Hue]

Do animals have souls?

I say yes but that they are subject to constant reincarnation

Unlike with humans

Who will all at some point be judged by God and then progress accordingly

That is a belief I hold

I don't believe God will judge any animals because they don't know right from wrong

They have not eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

So are innocent

And in a state of nature

For instance you cannot punish an animal because they cannot understand

No such thing as a soul aside from the metaphorical use of the term.