…Many people include the soul in their being structure, forming a triad with the body and the mind. Since the soul is regarded as an immortal thing, one that lives on after the body and the mind die out, it is something that can provide solace (a promise of eternity) to death-fearing humans. If that’s the case, could the soul just be a product of human survival instinct? If the soul is simply a figment of the imagination, yes. You could argue that it’s a mental creation, a by-product of the mind trying to come up with a way to suppress its instinctual fear of complete perishment.

There is a surprising number of people who believe that the soul doesn’t really exist.

I am someone who believes that the soul is just as real as my body and my mind. And because it exists, it will one day perish. I don’t know if this would be convincing enough for non-believers of the soul, but I feel that the general perception of the soul as something immortal is a tragic idea in itself. If we regard the soul as undying, it must have neither fear of death nor desire to survive. It is then deprived of nothing. If there’s no depravity, there’s no need to create anything new, so the soul is ultimately in a fixed state with no role to play. If something is not needed or required, it might as well be considered as something that doesn’t exist.

I believe in the existence of the soul, and I believe that my soul- just like my body and my mind- can die. It’s imperative that I keep it alive…