Do animals, bugs, insects have a soul?

[Gracie]

Found the question while wandering the net and thought it interesting.
Many think dogs (for example) or wild animals do NOT have souls. However, doesn't God Himself call wild animals "souls"?

“God went on to say: ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.’ And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:20, 24) In this passage, fish, domestic animals, and wild beasts are all referred to by the same word—“souls.” Birds and other animals are called souls at Genesis 9:10; Leviticus 11:46; andNumbers 31:28.

The bible often uses the term "soul" as a reference to "life". It refers to both humans and animals as, not having souls, but being "souls". Meaning they ARE souls. The word "soul" in this context represents the living human or animal being itself. I believe to be a soul, you need to have a councious mind. All animals do have brains. With a brain, there can be thoughts. So they are conscious. Which means they have a soul. Right?

 

[eots]

They are like the borg they a collective soul

 

[SpinDr79]

No, and neither do humans

 

[eots]

No, and neither do humans

I think we do or we never would of developed the mind required to ponder the question

 

[Mr.Right]

Found the question while wandering the net and thought it interesting.
Many think dogs (for example) or wild animals do NOT have souls. However, doesn't God Himself call wild animals "souls"?

I don't know which translation you use, but just

“God went on to say: ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.’ And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:20, 24) In this passage, fish, domestic animals, and wild beasts are all referred to by the same word—“souls.” Birds and other animals are called souls at Genesis 9:10; Leviticus 11:46; andNumbers 31:28.

The bible often uses the term "soul" as a reference to "life". It refers to both humans and animals as, not having souls, but being "souls". Meaning they ARE souls. The word "soul" in this context represents the living human or animal being itself. I believe to be a soul, you need to have a councious mind. All animals do have brains. With a brain, there can be thoughts. So they are conscious. Which means they have a soul. Right?

I don't know which translation you used, but I checked three different translations and none of them used the word soul. They say living things. Also, the only time they do use that word, it refers to Adam. So I would guess that animals do not possess souls.

 

[cnm]

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Numbers 31:9.one soul out of (every) five hundred] The word nephesh (‘soul’) denotes the life or animating principle of every living creature, man or beast, and here stands for an ‘individual’ person or a ‘head’ of cattle.

 

[cnm]

No, and neither do humans

I think we do or we never would of developed the mind required to ponder the question

Perhaps we don't as we haven't developed the mind to answer the question.

 

[Moonglow]

Animals have a better sense of a soul than humans and their inhuman activity..

 

[ABikerSailor]

If it has a nervous system that is capable of transmitting electricity (i.e. energy), then it has a "soul" in the form of the energy that inhabits it's nervous system.

Remember.............we all work on electricity, and that is a form of energy. Physics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Yes.................animals have a nervous system, and they have energy that is unique to them.

Animals have souls.

 

[S.J.]

Animals have a better sense of a soul than humans and their inhuman activity..

Some of them do, to be sure.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Found the question while wandering the net and thought it interesting.
Many think dogs (for example) or wild animals do NOT have souls. However, doesn't God Himself call wild animals "souls"?

“God went on to say: ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.’ And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:20, 24) In this passage, fish, domestic animals, and wild beasts are all referred to by the same word—“souls.” Birds and other animals are called souls at Genesis 9:10; Leviticus 11:46; andNumbers 31:28.

The bible often uses the term "soul" as a reference to "life". It refers to both humans and animals as, not having souls, but being "souls". Meaning they ARE souls. The word "soul" in this context represents the living human or animal being itself. I believe to be a soul, you need to have a councious mind. All animals do have brains. With a brain, there can be thoughts. So they are conscious. Which means they have a soul. Right?

Torah says not to eat blood since that's where the soul is. And since the prohibition against blood-eating is in the context of animals (guess they hoped not eating the blood of people was a given) it's infered animals have a soul.

4But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat.
- Bereishit 9

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Aside from teh religious angle, I don't actually differentiate between humans and animals. Humans ARE animals. We're primates. If we have souls, so do other primates, and if they do so does every living thing. Maybe the soul is what distinguishes life from not-life? Works for me.

 

[Mr.Right]

If it has a nervous system that is capable of transmitting electricity (i.e. energy), then it has a "soul" in the form of the energy that inhabits it's nervous system.

Remember.............we all work on electricity, and that is a form of energy. Physics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Yes.................animals have a nervous system, and they have energy that is unique to them.

Animals have souls.

You're assuming that a soul is made of energy. If that were true, our supposedly immortal souls would be subject to entropy.

 

[ABikerSailor]

If it has a nervous system that is capable of transmitting electricity (i.e. energy), then it has a "soul" in the form of the energy that inhabits it's nervous system.

Remember.............we all work on electricity, and that is a form of energy. Physics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Yes.................animals have a nervous system, and they have energy that is unique to them.

Animals have souls.

You're assuming that a soul is made of energy. If that were true, our supposedly immortal souls would be subject to entropy.

If energy can neither be created nor destroyed, how does entropy affect it?

It can't be created, nor can it be destroyed. It just exists.

And yeah...........I'm "assuming" that the soul is made of energy. What is it that runs our nervous system? Electricity. What is that? Energy.

And.................some philosophers have argued that a human is nothing more than the energy that drives the body, i.e. the "soul".

 

[Delta4Embassy]

If it has a nervous system that is capable of transmitting electricity (i.e. energy), then it has a "soul" in the form of the energy that inhabits it's nervous system.

Remember.............we all work on electricity, and that is a form of energy. Physics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Yes.................animals have a nervous system, and they have energy that is unique to them.

Animals have souls.

You're assuming that a soul is made of energy. If that were true, our supposedly immortal souls would be subject to entropy.

If energy can neither be created nor destroyed, how does entropy affect it?

It can't be created, nor can it be destroyed. It just exists.

And yeah...........I'm "assuming" that the soul is made of energy. What is it that runs our nervous system? Electricity. What is that? Energy.

And.................some philosophers have argued that a human is nothing more than the energy that drives the body, i.e. the "soul".

Anything "real" is comprised of particles which make up atoms and on. Life, including human beings are just these particles. And as such all real things be they living or non-living are just collections of particles. Consequently, in a sense, everything in the universe is the same thing since they're all made up of the most elementary particles. The impression things are discrete and autonomous is an illusion born from our not seeing things at their smallest scale without aid. But where one particle ends, and another begins is as close to nil as makes no odds. Where the particles making up the atoms of my foot ends and the particles that make up the ground begins is nil. And where the particles of the earth end and space's begin is also nil. I am the planet, and the universe and every other living being.

Humans in this manner are all one living organism, but due to our limited perspective like individual blood cells. We think we're discrete things, blood cells, when in fact we're just part of a greater whole.

 

[Mr.Right]

If it has a nervous system that is capable of transmitting electricity (i.e. energy), then it has a "soul" in the form of the energy that inhabits it's nervous system.

Remember.............we all work on electricity, and that is a form of energy. Physics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Yes.................animals have a nervous system, and they have energy that is unique to them.

Animals have souls.

You're assuming that a soul is made of energy. If that were true, our supposedly immortal souls would be subject to entropy.

If energy can neither be created nor destroyed, how does entropy affect it?

It can't be created, nor can it be destroyed. It just exists.

And yeah...........I'm "assuming" that the soul is made of energy. What is it that runs our nervous system? Electricity. What is that? Energy.

And.................some philosophers have argued that a human is nothing more than the energy that drives the body, i.e. the "soul".

Just as information exists independent of matter and energy, so does the soul. It is immaterial.

 

[Dajjal]

Spiritualism teaches that all life has souls. Higher animals have individual souls like us, but life forms like insects have group souls. So an ant colony would only have one soul between them. But don't ask me how that works.