The Human Soul

The human person is composed of both a material body and an

immaterial soul, a complex unity of both, created in the image of God
and called to participate in the divine life. Therefore, christians do not
undermine bodily existence and understand the importance of
embodied practices of the Christian life, such as the Eucharist, as means
of participating in the divine life.
The soul mediates between the divine realm and the material world,
providing the means by which it can manifest its spiritual nature in the
physical realm. The body is the lowest aspect of the soul, the vessel
through which the soul interacts with the material world. The body is
the physical manifestation of the soul in the world.
The soul has a tripartite structure.
1. The Nous: the highest aspect/faculty of the soul, and is closest to
God, the spiritual center, and the source of illumination and wisdom. It
is capable of direct intuition of divine truths.
It is often translated as "intellect" or "mind," but it is not to be
understood in the same way as the rational mind or intellect in modern
Western philosophy. Instead, the nous is the faculty of the soul that is
capable of perceiving spiritual realities and participating in divine
knowledge.
It is through the nous that the soul is able to transcend the limitations
of the material world and reach toward the spiritual realm and come in
contact with the divine. Through the nous a person is able to know and
contemplate God, to communicate with God and participate in Him.
The nous is often described as the "eye of the soul" or the "divine
spark" within the soul which allows for union with the divine. The
ultimate goal of human life is to achieve union with God through the
illumination of the nous, which allows the person to participate in the
divine life.
2. The intermediary part of the soul is the will and reason. It is the
practical aspect of the soul, which is the faculty of rational thought and
understanding. with the power of choice and action. It is responsible for
decision-making and judgment, based on reason and experience and
the exercise of free will. The will works in conjunction with the
reasoning powers of the soul to arrive at choices and decisions.
It is responsible for directing the other aspects of the soul towards the
attainment of their proper end or telos. It is the nous that informs and
directs reason and will towards what is good and virtuous.
Reason is our capacity for rational thought and can guide the will
towards good and help it to make decisions and choices that are in
accordance with virtue.
3. The lowest part of the soul is the sensory and emotional aspect,
which allows for interaction with the world through the senses and
emotions. It is the source of our physical sensations, our sense of touch,
taste, smell, hearing and sight. It has to do with our passions and
desires, with the incensive and the appetitive faculties, as the church
fathers called it. It is through the lower part of the soul that the
individual experiences the pleasures and pains of life.
It enables the soul to experience and respond to the world around it,
and it is through the purification of the lower faculties that the soul is
able to transform and draw closer to God. (See apatheia)
In this hierarchical structure, the lower faculties of the soul are
intended to be governed by the higher faculties. If reason and will are
guided by the nous, then the lower aspects of the soul submit and obey.
It is important to note that these aspects of the soul are not separate
entities, but rather interconnected and interdependent components
that make up the whole person. Rather than just focusing on one aspect
of the soul it is important to consider the spiritual transformation of the
entire person. Together, these aspects of the soul create a complex
entity capable of transcending the limitations of the material world and
reaching toward the spiritual realm. The soul is capable of spiritual
growth and transformation, as it participates in the divine life through
contemplative prayer and ascetic practices.
The ultimate goal of the human person is the union of the soul with
God. However, the passions and emotions of the soul are distorted and
disordered by identification with thoughts that lead to harmful
behaviors and attitudes. For this reason, passions and desires need to
be purified and transformed through spiritual practices such as fasting,
prayer, and contemplation in order to bring them into harmony with
God's will.
This union is achieved through the purification and transformation of
the soul, as the person seeks to overcome the passions and
attachments that bind them to the material world and opens
themselves to the divine presence. Through the cultivation of
contemplative prayer and the grace of God, the soul is gradually
transformed and united with God in a state of perfect love and
communion.
Each human being has a unique and individual soul that is created at
the moment of conception, and this soul is intimately connected to the
body throughout a person's life.
There is, though, a universal, divine Logos or Word, which is the source
of all being and which unites all things in a harmonious whole. This
Logos is not identical to individual souls, but rather encompasses and
transcends them.
Before the soul is instantiated in a particular body and existing in
space-time, it cannot be thought of as a separate existence apart from
its existence within the divine Logos. It's only after its instantiation that
it can be thought of as a separate existence with its own form and
unique characteristics.
In the undifferentiated state in the Logos, the soul is not separated from
the divine essence and doesn't have a particular individual existence.
However, when it becomes instantiated with a body in space-time, it
acquires a differentiated existence as a particular individual with a
unique identity. This differentiation continues even after the death and
decomposition of the body, as the soul retains its individual identity and
form.
The soul and body are interdependent parts of a human being, and they
cannot exist independently of each other. The soul remains eternally in
existence on account of its essence, not merely because it came to be.
After the death of the body, the soul is not referred to as "soul" in an
unqualified way, but as the soul of a particular human being. The soul
possesses, as its own form, the whole human being, which is predicated
of it by virtue of its relation as a part to the whole.
Similarly, the body has a particular relation on account of its origin.
After its separation from the soul, it is not simply called "body" but the
body of a man or a particular man. Like the soul, it possesses the form
of the whole human being predicated of it, by virtue of its relation as a
part to the whole.
Thus both the soul and body are parts of a single form, and therefore
cannot exist independently of each other. The soul cannot exist before
the creation of the body, and the body cannot exist without the soul.
Their relation as parts to the whole is what gives them their particular
existence and identity.
Even after the body dies, the soul and body are still connected in a way
because they both contribute to the whole form of a human being. So,
they can't be thought of as separate things on their own.
This means that the soul maintains a connection to the body, even
though the body is no longer alive. In other words, the soul still
possesses the “form of the body,” even though the body itself has
decayed or been destroyed.
Thus the relationship between the body and soul is not just a temporary
one that ends with death, but rather a fundamental and ongoing
connection that persists beyond the physical body's lifespan.
The "form of the body," refers to the idea that the body and soul
together make up the complete form of a human being. The form of a
human being is the entire structure or pattern of the body and soul,
which includes not just physical attributes but also mental and spiritual
aspects.
The soul still possesses the form of the body even after the body dies,
because the form of the body is not just a physical structure but also a
metaphysical structure that is maintained by the soul, especially the
lower faculty we discussed above.
So to sum up, the soul and body cannot be thought of or discussed
separately from each other because they are mutually dependent and
interrelated. The soul and body come into existence at the same time
and cannot exist without each other. Their relationship is unchanging
and immutable, meaning that the soul cannot exist before the body or
vice versa, and any attempt to do so would be a violation of their
respective natures. Ultimately, what is needed is a holistic view of the
human being as an integrated whole, rather than as separate and
distinct parts.