Main Difference
The main difference between Soul and Spirit is that the Soul is a essence of an individual and Spirit is a immaterial being.
-
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.
-
Spirit
A spirit is a supernatural being, often, but not exclusively, a non-physical entity; such as a ghost, fairy, or angel. The concepts of a person’s spirit and soul, often also overlap, as both are either contrasted with or given ontological priority over the body and both are believed to survive bodily death in some religions, and “spirit” can also have the sense of “ghost”, i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person. In English Bibles, “the Spirit” (with a capital “S”), specifically denotes the Holy Spirit.
Spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality.
Historically, it was also used to refer to a “subtle” as opposed to “gross” material substance, as in the famous last paragraph of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica.
-
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.
-
Spirit (noun)
The soul of a person or other creature.
-
Spirit (noun)
A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel.
“A wandering spirit haunts the island.”
-
Spirit (noun)
Enthusiasm.
“School spirit is at an all-time high.”
-
Spirit (noun)
The manner or style of something.
“In the spirit of forgiveness, we didn’t press charges.”
-
Spirit (noun)
A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages.
-
Spirit (noun)
Energy; ardour.
-
Spirit (noun)
One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper.
“a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit”
-
Spirit (noun)
Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state; often in the plural.
“to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be down-hearted, or in bad spirits”
-
Spirit (noun)
Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself.
-
Spirit (noun)
A rough breathing; an aspirate, such as the letter h; also, a mark denoting aspiration.
-
Spirit (noun)
Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement.
“the spirit of an enterprise, or of a document”
-
Spirit (noun)
Any of the four substances: sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment).
-
Spirit (noun)
stannic chloride
-
Spirit (verb)
To carry off, especially in haste, secrecy, or mystery.
-
Spirit (verb)
To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; sometimes followed by up.
“Civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men.”
-
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”
-
Spirit (noun)
the non-physical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul
“we seek a harmony between body and spirit”
-
Spirit (noun)
the non-physical part of a person regarded as their true self and as capable of surviving physical death or separation
“a year after he left, his spirit is still present”
-
Spirit (noun)
the non-physical part of a person manifested as an apparition after their death; a ghost
“a priest performed a rite of exorcism and the wandering spirit was ousted”
-
Spirit (noun)
a supernatural being
“shrines to nature spirits”
-
Spirit (noun)
short for Holy Spirit
-
Spirit (noun)
the prevailing or typical quality, mood, or attitude of a person, group, or period of time
“I hope the team will build on this spirit of confidence”
“the university is a symbol of the nation’s egalitarian spirit”
-
Spirit (noun)
a person identified with their most prominent quality or with their role in a group or movement
“he was a leading spirit in the conference”
-
Spirit (noun)
a person’s mood or attitude
“the warm weather lifted everyone’s spirits”
“he confessed in a spirit of self-respect”
-
Spirit (noun)
the quality of courage, energy, and determination
“his visitors admired his spirit and good temper”
-
Spirit (noun)
the real meaning or the intention behind something as opposed to its strict verbal interpretation
“the rule had been broken in spirit if not in letter”
-
Spirit (noun)
strong distilled alcoholic drink such as brandy, whisky, gin, or rum.
-
Spirit (noun)
a volatile liquid, especially a fuel, prepared by distillation
“aviation spirit”
-
Spirit (noun)
a solution of volatile components extracted from something, typically by distillation or by solution in alcohol
“spirits of turpentine”
-
Spirit (noun)
a highly refined substance or fluid thought to govern vital phenomena.
-
Spirit (verb)
convey rapidly and secretly
“stolen cows were spirited away some distance to prevent detection”