Debates about soul and self are perhaps the most common and hottest debates in philosophy. Tons of literature can be found when it comes to subjects such as transphenomenal and phenomenal world and objects. Does soul exist? Or is it just a transphenomenal object. Is karma a phenomenal object and is it real? Does life after death really exist?
What is soul and what is its relation with the self?
Soul cannot be seen or felt. You cannot touch it and you cannot feel it. What is soul? It could be the emotions and the feelings in the man. But that’s just one of the many answers to the question. There are some ‘rational’ explanations as well in which it has been debated that since we cannot see and touch the soul, therefore, it does not exist and all arguments in favor of its existence are false.
What is self? The dictionary meaning of ‘self’ is rather a modest one. Self is not just an ordinary pronoun. For instance, when I say that Jim Morrissey killed himself, here ‘self’ would mean the person who got killed and the person who killed. Self can be the object and the agent. Self can also become an activity when used as ‘self-analysis, ‘self-hatred’ etc.
In philosophical terms, the self is the agent and the knower of all things. Philosophers have called ‘self’ the ultimate locus of one’s personality. For some it even meant the whole world to them as Ludwig Wittgenstein says, “I am my whole world to me”. His self is the whole world to him. Does this meaning of self has any relation with man’s ego? One can argue about that. In philosophy these relations are defined as mind-body problems, and they have caught the attention of a number of philosophers.
