Immortality of the Soul
Argument Analysis #1 Prompt Augustine, On the Immortality of the Soul CPhi 200 In Chapter 16 of On the Immortality of the Soul, Augustine writes: [All material objects such as the human body are spatially limited in some sense.] The soul, however, is present at the same time and entire, not only in the entire mass of its body, but also in each of its individual parts. For, it is the entire soul that feels the pain of a part of the body, yet it does not feel it in the entire body. When, for instance, there is an ache in the foot, the eye looks at it, the mouth speaks of it, and the hand reaches for it. This, of course, would be impossible, if what of the soul is in these parts did not also experience a sensation in the foot; if the soul were not present, it would be unable to feel what has happened there. For, it would be incredible of a messenger to announce a fact, the occurrence of which he had not experienced.
The sensation which occurs does not run through the mass of the body by continuation in such fashion as not to remain unnoticed by other parts of the soul which are elsewhere, but the entire soul feels what is going on in the particular part of the foot and feels it only there where it occurs. Hence, the entire soul is present, at one and the same time, in the single parts, and it experiences sensation as a whole, at one and the same time, in the single parts.
Clearly state and defend Augustine’s argument in this passage.
Answer preview
Augustine argues that the soul is a possession of the body that is identified with the body. Both the body and the soul must be together for a live human being to exist. In the passage, it is stated that the soul is present at the same time and entire, not only in the entire mass of its body but also in each of its individual parts. This is because the soul is more powerful and it is the one responsible for manipulating the sensory organs and experiences of the body…
(580 words)