Soul
The soul, in many religious, philosophical, and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal essence of a living being. Soul or psyche (Ancient Greek: ψυχή psūkhḗ, of ψύχειν psū́khein, “to breathe”) comprises the mental abilities of a living being: reason, character, feeling, consciousness, memory, perception, thinking, etc. Depending on the philosophical system, a soul can either be mortal or immortal. In Judeo-Christianity, only human beings have immortal souls (although immortality is disputed within Judaism and the concept of immortality may have been influenced by Plato). For example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed “soul” (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal.Other religions (most notably Hinduism and Jainism) hold that all living things from the smallest bacterium to the largest of mammals are the souls themselves (Atman, jiva) and have their physical representative (the body) in the world. The actual self is the soul, while the body is only a mechanism to experience the karma of that life. Thus if we see a tiger then there is a self-conscious identity residing in it (the soul), and a physical representative (the whole body of the tiger, which is observable) in the world. Some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This belief is called animism. Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, understood that the soul (ψυχή psūchê) must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At his defense trial, Socrates even summarized his teaching as nothing other than an exhortation for his fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such excellence (Apology 30a–b).
The current consensus of modern science is that there is no evidence to support the existence of the soul when traditionally defined as the spiritual breath of the body. In metaphysics, the concept of “Soul” may be equated with that of “Mind” in order to refer to the consciousness and intellect of the individual.
Sole (noun)
A wooden band or yoke put around the neck of an ox or cow in the stall.
Sole (noun)
A pond or pool; a dirty pond of standing water.
Sole (noun)
The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
Sole (noun)
The bottom of a shoe or boot.
Sole (noun)
The foot itself.
Sole (noun)
Solea solea, a flatfish of the family Soleidae.
Sole (noun)
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.
Sole (noun)
The bottom of the body of a plough; the slade.
Sole (noun)
The bottom of a furrow.
Sole (noun)
The end section of the chanter of a set of bagpipes.
Sole (noun)
The horny substance under a horse’s foot, which protects the more tender parts.
Sole (noun)
The bottom of an embrasure.
Sole (noun)
The seat or bottom of a mine; applied to horizontal veins or lodes.
Sole (verb)
To pull by the ears; to pull about; haul; lug.
Sole (verb)
to put a sole on (a shoe or boot)
Sole (adjective)
only
Sole (adjective)
unmarried (especially of a woman); widowed.
Soul (noun)
The spirit or essence of a person usually thought to consist of one’s thoughts and personality. Often believed to live on after the person’s death.
Soul (noun)
The spirit or essence of anything.
Soul (noun)
Life, energy, vigor.
Soul (noun)
Soul music.
Soul (noun)
A person, especially as one among many.
Soul (noun)
An individual life.
“Fifty souls were lost when the ship sank.”
Soul (noun)
A kind of submanifold involved in the soul theorem of Riemannian geometry.
Soul (verb)
To endow with a soul; to furnish with a soul or mind.
Soul (verb)
To beg on All Soul’s Day.
Soul (verb)
To afford suitable sustenance.
Sole (noun)
a shipping forecast area in the north-eastern Atlantic, covering the western approaches to the English Channel.
Sole (verb)
put a new sole on to (a shoe)
“he wanted several pairs of boots to be soled and heeled”
Sole (adjective)
one and only
“my sole aim was to contribute to the national team”
Sole (adjective)
belonging or restricted to one person or group of people
“the health club is for the sole use of our guests”
Sole (adjective)
(especially of a woman) unmarried.
Sole (adjective)
alone; unaccompanied.
Soul (noun)
the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
Soul (noun)
a person’s moral or emotional nature or sense of identity
“in the depths of her soul, she knew he would betray her”
Soul (noun)
emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, especially as revealed in a work of art or an artistic performance
“their interpretation lacked soul”
Soul (noun)
black American culture or ethnic pride.
Soul (noun)
short for soul music
Soul (noun)
the essence or embodiment of a specified quality
“he was the soul of discretion”
“brevity is the soul of wit”
Soul (noun)
an individual person
“I’ll never tell a soul”
“it was bad news for some poor soul”
Soul (noun)
a person regarded with affection or pity
“she’s a nice old soul”