There are three grand questions concerninglifeunderwhichallother questions can be found: “How did I get here? What does it mean to be human?” and “What will happen to me when I die?” All questions conceived by man fall broadly into one ofthesethreegrandquestions.None are excluded. But that is not the end of it, or, I should say, the start of it. Truthfully, most all questions that can possibly be asked inevitably fall under the ultimate question, “What does it mean to be human?”
What does it mean to be human? is, as we have indicated, a deep and complex question whose foundation is rooted in man’s endowment of mental states. That is, how a person perceives, thinks, feels, and reacts at a given time. It is here, however, that many scientists and philosophers claim that mental states are simply what the brain does and are not a function of some distinct immaterial entity such as the mind. This perspective is often termed physicalism, which is the belief that all that exists in the world are physical things made up of atoms. In other words, the physical brain is all there is, and mental states are not produced by the mind but are just the expected product of its functioning.
Physicalism, however, cannot explain a wide range of mental states that stand apart from the physical brain. These things, Christians believe, reside exclusively in the mind and soul of every human being. On this view, what it means to be human is that all people are substance dualists composed of the material and immaterial; a brain and a mind; a body and a soul.
Christians, however, are not the originators of the concept of substance dualism. The French philosopher René Descartes (15961650) reasoned that all we can be certain of is that we possess a mind. Everything else, including the body and brain, could simply be an illusion produced by the mind. Hence, Descartes coined the phrase “I think, therefore I am.” He then set about theorizing that the body is not an illusion but a physical substance common to all human beings. Descartes’ reflection then led him to propose substance dualism ultimately as a key element in what it means to be human.
Nevertheless, and long before Descartes, the Jewish intertestamental writings (420 BC – 25 AD) over and again described the substance dualismofman(forexample, see Baruch 30.1-5; Enoch 22.1-5). The New Testament that followed clearly portrays man as consisting of both a physical body and an immaterial mind (soul). The apostle Paul is especially explicit in his description of body/soul dualism in describing the soul of the Christian dead being temporarily separated from the body. Paul goes on to explain that at the resurrection, the soul will be once again “clothed” this time in their glorified body. Paul writes, but until then, “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (cf. 2 Cor 5). Philosopher William Lane Craig, in his book The Historical Adam, argues that since the Bible has so much to say about the dualistic nature of man, then “Scripture is to be takenseriously and that humans are composite entities made up of a soul and a body” that coexist while alive on Earth and are temporarily separated at death.
Even so, many physicalists in both science and philosophy adamantly argue that humans are a soulless, spiritless bag of atoms that will someday die and decay back into the atoms from whence they came. More specifically, physicalists believe that the brain alone gives rise to various mental states, including the capacity to reflect, exercise free will, and act with premeditated intentionality. One such philosopher is Alex Rosenberg, who actively argues (with intentionality by the way) in his book, The Atheist’s Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life Without Illusion, that there is “no self, no identity over time, no free will, and no intentionality.” In other words, if the physical brain is all that there is, then these mental states cannot and do not actually exist. However, I doubt that this is true. After all, a strong argument can be made that an enduring self, personal identity over time, the exercise of free will, and acting with intentionality are very much characteristic mental states that, in large part, define what it means to be human. In fact, there is an enormous amount of evidence that suggests they do truly exist.
I say all of this with intentionality because the weight of the question demands an answer: “Do humanbeingspossessasoulornot?” If we do not, then, in the words of the ancient philosopher Epicurus, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” But, if man does possess a soul, what is its purpose? More than that, where did it come from? And what am I to do with it? The answer is, in fact, the answer to that ultimate question, “What does it mean to be human?” Join us again next time as we take a close look at Rosenberg’s work. Until then, ask yourself the final question, “Is God dead?” Gloria in excelsis Deo! Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.