Last night at the Humanist Spirituality class I'm teaching we talked, at the very end, about the difference between spirit and soul--and which word tended to be more appealing to humanists. We wondered together if soul implied immortality, and thought that maybe for that reason humanists tended toward spirit instead.
Of course this got me curious about the whole thing. I know Felix Adler, the founder of Ethical Culture, used the word "soul" because there's a phrase of his that I love: that our movement exists to "save our souls alive." It's a humanist understanding of salvation, really, that it's how our souls fare in this moment and this world that matters right now.
Wikipedia doesn't clear things up much--it says soul is synonymous with spirit. And while it's true that we may be splitting hairs, it's exactly the semantic difference that we were interested in. So then I happened upon an excerpt from the magazine Poetry, handed along to me from a member of WES (thanks, Marty!). It was perfect, because the class last night focused on text as a pathway to spirituality, and specifically talked about the deep resonance we often find in poetry.
I like what the author of this piece, Sven Birkerts, said so much that I'll just quote it here. Food for thought!
"What is clear to me right off is that there is no going forward if the word 'soul' cannot be used. I see no point in talking about poetry in any deeper way without that access. At the same time, I know that there is no faster way to get cashiered out as the worst sort of throwback than by saying 'soul' with a straight face...I should define the word, make clear how I mean it. To speak of soul is not, for me, to speak about religion...Soul, for me, is prior to religion...I think of it as the active inner part of the self, the part that is not shaped by contingencies, that stands free; the part of the 'I' that recognizes the absurd fact of its being; that is not in any sense immortal, but that recognizes the concept of immortality and understands the desire it expresses; that
is the desire. Soul, considered in this way, is a quality that can be recognized in expressions of language, even though it cannot be explained or accounted for. That it can be recognized confirms that language can express it. Does rarely, but
can. And the expressions most kindred most likely--thought still very rare--are poems. This is because poems are written out of a double intent: to give voice to the most urgent and elusive inner states, and to use language with the greatest compression ad intensity. The most lasting poetry--speaking historically--is the poetry that has given some expression to the poet's soul, that part of him- or herself that connects most deeply and exactly with the souls of others."
Yes!
And if you like thinking about this stuff, please do join us for the second class, Tuesday May 8 at 7:30pm. Next time, we're talking about--and experiencing--silence.
2 comments:
You know, when I read this kind of statement (as you quoted from Sven B. on the definition of "soul"), no matter how carefully worded and thought out, I am never quite sure what is being described. Is it "consciousness"? (and some talk about consciousness of consciousness...) Is it "mind" and its thinking, feeling, sensing? Am I missing something important in my awareness of being human??
Well, aside from that, I prefer the word "spirit" over "soul." But I think maybe "soul" carries with it an identification with an individual person that "spirit" may not; and maybe that's why it resonates better to some.
We can say that a singer has soul; we could also say that the singer had spirit. In this context, soul has to do with deep feeling while spirit has to do with energy.
You could also say that the singer was full of spirit and that would make sense in a religious context but not a secular one.
We can also say that someone touched our soul and we would understand what was meant even in a secular context. If we say we were touched by the spirit, it would be a religious connotation.
So while both spirit and soul can be used either religiously or secularly, on balance the word soul seems to fit the humanist setting better, although some will object to it use whatever the context.
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